The US has decided to remove Thailand from its list of worst human trafficking offenders, officials said, a move that could help smooth relations with Bangkok’s military-run government.
The upgrade, confirmed by a US official in Washington and a Bangkok-based official from an international organization with direct knowledge of the rankings, would mark a rare boost for US-Thai relations. Ties between the countries have flat-lined since the Thai military seized power in a 2014 coup that Washington strongly condemned.
It also comes as US President Barack Obama works to forge a united front among wavering Southeast Asian countries against China’s pursuit of its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Photo: EPA
Bangkok has protested publicly to Washington that it should be removed from the lowest ranking on the US Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons report, which is due to be released today.
The report is expected to cite improvements in Thailand’s efforts to combat human trafficking, especially in its vital US multibillion dollar seafood industry, the US official said.
The upgrade would put Thailand on a “Tier 2 Watch List” and remove it from the rating for countries with the worst human-trafficking records, known as Tier 3.
Thai Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the upgrade shows Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has kept his pledge to fight human trafficking in response to international criticism.
“The international community will see that what the prime minister told the international community he would do, he did,” Sansern said.
Thai Minister of Defense General Prawit Wongsuwan said the upgrade to Tier 2 Watch List did not mean Thailand would stop tackling trafficking issues.
“Even though we will be moved to Tier 2, we need to keep solving this problem,” Prawit said.
The report organizes countries into tiers based on trafficking records: Tier 1 for nations that meet minimum US standards; Tier 2 for those making significant efforts to meet those standards; Tier 2 “Watch List” for those that deserve special scrutiny; and Tier 3 for countries that are not making significant efforts.
Thailand was downgraded to the lowest ranking in June 2014, just weeks after the military seized power.
Thai officials were incensed last year when Malaysia was upgraded from Tier 3, but Thailand was not, and even human rights advocates agreed that Bangkok had made a greater effort to curb human trafficking than Kuala Lumpur had.
In this year’s report, the US Department of State has opted to keep Malaysia at the higher ranking it received last year, the US official said.
US Department of State spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the tier rankings.
“We will not comment on the contents of this year’s report until after the report is released,” he said.
The junta has repeatedly vowed to crack down on human trafficking, particularly in its US multi-billion dollar seafood industry.
Thailand recently reformed its anti-trafficking laws and introduced a system to track fishing vessels, part of what it called “comprehensive and irreversible” measures to clean up its supply chain and curb illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
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