The United States government has recommended Thailand simplify processes for migrants wanting to work legally in the fishery industry to increase the country’s chance of upgrading its status to Tier 1 in the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
The recommendation was one of the issues covered when deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn and Chettaphan Maksamphan, director-general of the Department of American and Pacific Affairs, met with US State Department officials in Washington, DC, on Feb 27.
The focus of the meeting was the 2023 TIP Report.
During the meeting, Pol Gen Surachate told US officials from the Anti-Human Trafficking Division how Thai police have pressed charges against companies that do not provide fair wages and welfare to migrant workers.
The US officials noted that Thai police solved a labour rights issue at a clothing company in Tak province where migrant workers there had not been treated fairly by their employer.
The US officials commented that the paperwork required for fishing industry workers was too complicated and, as such, was counterproductive. They recommended that Thailand follow the examples of Panama and Jordan in resolving this.
The Thai officials also met Chris Smith, US congressman for New Jersey, who introduced International Megan’s Law to prevent child exploitation and other sexual crimes through advance notification of travelling sex offenders.
Pol Gen Surachate told the congressman that Thailand would strive to improve its anti-human trafficking laws to become the leading Asean country in combating such crimes.
He said Thailand would endorse preventive measures rather than solely focus on suppression. Law enforcement needs to include community involvement, including the training of locals, to prevent child prostitution, he said, citing an example given during the meeting.