Deputy Government Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek disclosed that Defense Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha has placed priority on comprehensively addressing the issue of trafficking in persons in all dimensions. The target is to move Thailand up to Tier 1 in the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
At present, The U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2020 has maintained Thailand’s ranking at Tier 2 for 3 consecutive years after being listed in Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3 rankings earlier.
The Thai Government submitted its TIP report on the country’s prevention and suppression of human trafficking in 2020 to the US Embassy on February 2, 2021, following with the progress report for January- March 2021 on April 3.
The reports prescribe and detail an effort of all concerned sectors, and continuation of related implementations from the previous years, such as numbers of arrest and conviction cases, mobilization of National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (Thailand is the first country in Asia to adopt the stand-alone National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights), expedition in legal prosecution at the investigation, attorney, and court levels (the period of examination process for human trafficking cases decreased from 118 days in 2015 to 70 days in 2020), care for victims who are sexual and gender minorities, and collaboration with the civil society sector to establish a center to assist migrant workers with work-related problems, etc.
According to the Deputy Government Spokesperson, another notable accomplishment, which is also in line with the Digital Government policy, is Ministry of Social Development and Human Security’s launch of ‘PROTECT-U’ mobile application as a whistleblowing channel for protection of human trafficking victims. The application comes in 7 languages, namely, Thai, Chinese, Myanmar, Khmer, Lao, Vietnamese, and English, and is aimed to cover target groups in all risky areas.
The Prime Minister conveyed his thanks to all concerned sectors, including the civil society sector, for joining forces in preventing and suppressing trafficking in persons to achieve tangible outcomes. He also encouraged the public to be part of the effort to suppress trafficking in persons through downloading the ‘PROTECT-U’ mobile application.
