Human trafficking is a heinous crime that happens almost everywhere and affects virtually everyone. According to the International Labor Organization, more than 20 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking, which has also been called “modern slavery.”
Human trafficking is the exploitation of someone for the purposes of compelled labor or commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Forms of human trafficking include sex trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage and domestic servitude. When a person younger than 18 is subjected to prostitution, it is considered child sex trafficking even without any demonstration of force, fraud, or coercion.
The U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons, or TIP, Report was released in Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2016, and Thailand was upgraded to the Tier 2 Watch List. The 2016 TIP Report covers governments’ anti-trafficking efforts from April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016. The Tier 2 Watch List ranking indicates that the Government of Thailand made significant efforts to eliminate trafficking during the rating period, but still does not fully meet the minimum standards for doing so.
The Tier 2 Watch List ranking underscores that the problem of human trafficking in Thailand remains large and requires additional, substantial, and effective government leadership. We encourage Thailand to make further, sustained progress in fighting trafficking and enforcing Thai anti-trafficking laws. The Report includes a list of recommendations specific to the trafficking issues in Thailand that we believe will help the government make progress. We encourage the government to implement those recommendations fully.
The U.S. government is committed to working closely with the government and the people of Thailand to address this significant challenge.
U.S. government agencies and law enforcement officials remain partners to the government and civil society in Thailand as they work to end human trafficking.
