It has just been announced that Thailand will remain on the Tier 2 Watchlist of the US State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, for the fourth year.
The country has avoided being downgraded to Tier 3 (the worst possible rating), but remaining on the Tier 2 Watchlist confirms that insufficient progress has been made by Thailand to tackle human trafficking, and that corruption, inadequate inspections and a lack of prosecutions remain major problems.
In response to this news, Steve Trent, Executive Director of EJF said, “Whilst we welcome the rejection of an upgrade in Thailand’s status by the US State Department, there is clearly a huge amount of work for Thailand and seafood companies to do. EJF has uncovered the consistent, wide ranging use of forced and trafficked workers on Thai fishing boats as a way to maximise profits. The fish caught by these vessels, crewed by trafficked workers, is used to supply fish to the shrimp industry and provide for fish markets in Europe and the United States.
“Thailand needs to address this issue head on, by rooting out corruption, prosecuting offending boat owners and companies, and ensuring a rigorous inspection regime. Meanwhile seafood businesses need to urgently investigate their supply chains to ensure that no products linked to human trafficking are present.”
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