Trafficking : the USA denounce Thailand attitude

Last June, U.S. secretary of state John Kerry launched the 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Its aim is to describe how 188 governments have performed in fighting human trafficking.

Compared to the last report, three countries have declined, being demoted to Tier 3 (the lowest status). These countries are Thailand, Malaysia and Venezuela and are now in the same category than Syria or North Korea. The report is available here.

The report mentions forced labor, evoking the case of Myo, a young man who left his home in Burma (Malaysia) to work in a pineapple factory in Thailand. When he arrived he was sold for $430 to a boat captain and forced to work as a fisherman. He was regularly beaten. When the boat docked at port, officers bribed local police.

Fishing industry is a big issue in Thailand, as a recent scandal involving Western companies pointed it out. To resolve this problem Mongkol Sukcharoenkana, deputy president of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand, said the association would reorganise the fishing boat and fishing system soon to prevent illegal labour problems.

There cannot be impunity for those who traffic in human beings. It must end.

John Kerry

The report also describes allegations of trafficking-related complicity by Thai civilian and navy personnel in the exploitation of Muslims who have fled Myanmar. Last year tens thousands of them have fled the country and have been trapped in Thailand.Today, the amount of people slaved in the country is estimated to 472.000.

A number of anti-slavery organisations are working to end slavery at sea in Thailand and elsewhere including the Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) initiative launched in April this year.

In Thailand, widespread official complicity continues to be a long-standing problem that remains a significant obstacle to anti- trafficking progress.

Luis CdeBaca

The United States will decide by September whether sanctions will be instigated. I hope that geopolitical reasons won't impair judgment. Indeed Thailand is one of the biggest American's ally in South East Asia, and if sanctions were pronounced we can their relationship could be degraded for long, which is not in the interest of the USA.

Follow me on Twitter : @SlaveryFight

If you want to know more about modern slavery in Thailand :

Fishing slavery in Thailand : which solution ? - SlaveryFight.over-blog.com

As I've already written about it (see here), a large-scale investigation was launched in the thai fishing industry six months ago. The results was pathetic : we learnt that Charoen Pokphand Foods ...

http://slaveryfight.over-blog.com/2014/07/fishing-slavery-in-thailand-which-solution.html

Slavery in Thailand : support to Andy Hall - SlaveryFight.over-blog.com

In January last year, Andy Hall, a British human right defender, exposed alleged labor abuse in a report called &Cheap has a high price&. In his choking documentary he exposed alleged labor and ...

http://slaveryfight.over-blog.com/2014/07/slavery-in-thailand-support-to-andy-hall.html