July 19, 2022. Following the release of TIP Report 2022 by the U.S. Department of State, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomed the upgrade of Thailand to Tier 2. He also thanked the agencies who take part in this effort and encouraged all to continue their hard work to eradicate human trafficking from Thailand.
Government Spokesperson, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, said Prime Minister Prayut has prioritized anti-human trafficking effort as a national agenda and the Thai Government has continuously worked to fight human trafficking, and to protect and safeguard the human dignity in line with human rights principles. Thailand also stands ready to cooperate with all stakeholders, both domestic and international to eliminate all forms of human trafficking.
The TIP report 2022 noted that the Thai government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity. These efforts included, among others, increasing the number of trafficking investigations, finalizing a national referral mechanism (NRM), establishing a new trafficking victim identification center, developing guidelines for labor officials to refer suspected trafficking victims to multidisciplinary teams.
On this same occasion, State Department also announced 6 TIP Report Heroes with outstanding contribution to the fight against human trafficking, including a Thai individual, Mrs. Apinya Tajit, Deputy Director of the Stella Maris Seafarer’s Center, who was recognized for her achievement in providing assistance to forced labour victims, particularly in fishing industry.
