More is being done to fight trafficking: govt

THAILAND has improved its practices towards anti-human trafficking campaigns over the past six months and will speed up its long-term efforts in fighting the abuse, Deputy Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday.
Despite the deputy minister’s boast of progress on the issue, smuggling of Rohingya has continued unabated. In Nakhon Si Thammarat on Sunday, a five-vehicle convoy was intercepted by officials, who arrested two Thai drivers while three others fled.
A Rohingya woman was found dead in one of the vehicles, while some 98 other migrants, including 46 children were detained. The woman, aged about 20, died of extreme exhaustion, while survivors suffered starvation after two days of travel without food and water.
An update for the Trafficking in Persons Report 2015, organised by the US State Department, will be done on Thailand’s progress over the past three and six months and will be completed in March, the deputy minister said.
He said the Prayut Chan-o-cha government had made suppression of human trafficking a top priority, while imposing stricter enforcement of relevant laws to effectively tackle human trafficking. The PM chairs a government committee to address the issue and run operations.
In terms of legal matters, Don said a set of ministerial regulations was promulgated on December 30 to set a minimum welfare standard for Thai and migrant crew members on fishing trawlers of all sizes; and a change in the anti-human trafficking law says that informants or complainants and officials doing relevant cases must be protected, while half of assets seized from any smugglers who are convicted will be given as compensated to victims.
The junta-installed National Legislative Assembly passed a law to better protect crew members and labourers in the fishing industry, while imposing fines of up to Bt30 million on violators. This law will take effect in the next 60 days.

NACC to investigate wrongdoing
Prayut had given the National Anti-Corruption Commission an extra Bt300 million for additional tasks to investigate into wrongdoing by corrupt officials aiding or benefitting from smuggling of migrant workers, Don said.
Don said 104 people who had broken the law had been convicted in 130 cases in court trials, while registration of migrant workers and identification of their nationality had surpassed 1.6 million. Those not yet registered have been given an extended deadline – March 31 – to become part of the process.
PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said officials were aware of people smuggling migrant workers and would take drastic action once concrete evidence has been obtained against these people and their financiers.
In related news, following yesterday’s meeting of related agencies about the suppression of human trafficking, Social Development and Human Security Ministry’s permanent secretary Wichien Chavalit said the draft of strategies and action guidelines would be ready in a week or two before it is submitted to the national committee for consideration.