Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs Police General Thammasak Wicharaya presided over the opening speech of the workshop to establish Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for victims of forced labour and human trafficking. Assistant Minister from the Prime Minister’s Office performing duties for the Ministry of Labour Police Major General Nantachat Supamongkol, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour Mr. Wannarat Srisuksai, and representatives from the Ministry of Labour, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also participated in the workshop. Academic Labour Advisor Mrs. Napasorn Toongsooksai joined in giving a lecture on human trafficking prevention policy. The workshop took place at the Petchchompoo Room, 3rd floor, The Emerald Hotel, Bangkok.
Police General Thammasak said Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha is committed to solving human trafficking and pushing Thailand back to Tier 2 status following the TIP Report in 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees the task of preventing and solving human trafficking problems, emphasized for all relevant agencies to expedite their duties and fully comply with the law. Police General Thammasak was assigned as the chairman of the Joint Anti-Trafficking in Persons Subcommittee for Thailand – United States (Thai side) to accelerate this policy with relevant agencies. In 2021, the US Department of State published its Trafficking in Persons Report 2021 (TIP Report 2021) and ranked Thailand in the Tier 2 Watch list. Thus, Thailand must expedite the upgrade and lift its level of action to prevent and combat human trafficking to demonstrate Thailand’s commitment to tackling human trafficking. The United States has published its Midyear 2022 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Assessment Report. In relation to Thailand, important developments were mentioned about establishing a victim screening center to provide shelter and services to potential victims before their identification. It also included amendments to the Ministerial Regulations, which require employers to enter into an employment contract that the employee understands and upgrade the human trafficking prevention command center of the Ministry of Labour to become a divisional level. It also reported challenges that the Thai government must expedite, including preparing guidelines for officials to implement Section 6/1 under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Police General Thammasak further said that the government had made the prevention and suppression of human trafficking a national agenda. It aims to expedite the implementation of the recommendations in the US TIP Report, to raise Thailand back to Tier 2 status in 2022. For example, it aims to upgrade the Labour Trafficking Prevention Command Center to become a Secretary Office of the Labour Trafficking Prevention Command Center, a permanent unit equivalent to a department level. The effort will develop the competency of relevant officers and issue Ministerial Regulations on the use of employment contracts for hiring foreign workers of the three nationalities in four languages. It also aims to establish a center for victims of trafficking in persons (Don Mueang). Today, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin instructed the Ministry of Labour to organize a workshop on establishing Standard Operation Procedures (SOP). Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonchob Suttamanaswong, assigned the Secretary Office of the Labour Trafficking Prevention Command Center to conduct the workshop today. It is the preparation of procedures and guidelines to identify victims of human trafficking and forced labour. Having procedures and guidelines (SOPs) will be an important mechanism to raise the standard of staff operators’ work more efficiently, have the ability to identify victims of forced labour and human trafficking, and efficiently refer potential cases to law enforcement agencies. It is equivalent to the minimum standards in the United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), which will help push Thailand to the Tier 2 rank of the Trafficking in Persons report.
“I would like to thank all agencies for joining forces with all sectors as the Thailand Team in driving the fight against human trafficking. The effort will eliminate forced labour and human trafficking in Thailand and enable Thailand to meet US minimum standards, to be ranked Tier 2 in the Trafficking in Persons report,” concluded Police General Thammasak.
Source: Ministry of Labour