Marking Thailand's Stop Human Trafficking Day Wednesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha claimed success in the country's fight against human trafficking in the past four years and vowed to step up efforts to meet international standards in this area.
Efforts to fight human trafficking have begun to pay off, Gen Prayut said.
Many suspects have been brought to justice in more than 1,000 criminal cases, more than 3,000 victims have been rescued and the court has sentenced 11 criminals who were high-level state officials to up to 18 years in prison in human trafficking cases, he said.
He said the government had urged state agencies involved in the suppression on human trafficking to base their work on evidence and facts and not just crack down blindly because it is government policy.
More importantly, he said, all state agencies have been told to never treat Thai nationals and foreigners differently when it comes to legal action in trafficking cases.
"Currently, human trafficking is a global concern as victims become younger and younger and trafficking has evolved into a more complicated form which is difficult to track, especially online-based human trafficking activities," Gen Prayut said at Wednesday's event.
Among the more than 500 people who attended the event were ambassadors and representatives of international organisations in Thailand.
Gen Prayut stressed the importance of improving awareness about human trafficking among people prone to fall victim, such as minors and youths.
"We have to admit that human trafficking is still here, so all parties will have to continue fighting it," he said.
Among the main challenges facing the fight against trafficking in Thailand, he said, include trafficking which involves transnational criminal gangs and the involvement of certain state officials in human trafficking activities, some of which have been convicted in past legal cases.
It's also important to follow the international principle for tackling trafficking while ensuring the rights of all people involved in trafficking, he said.
This includes the rights of suspects accused of involvement.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said the government was speeding up efforts to fully keep track of fishing boats, including those reported to have been sunk or missing.
That is part of the government's efforts to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, an important problem that at times is associated with trafficking of migrant workers, he said.
In a survey conducted Wednesday at Samut Sakhon's Rup Lom wharf and along Khlong Maha Chai canal and the Tha Chin River in the same province, as many as 34 unregistered boats were found, said Gen Chatchai.
The local marine office was ordered ask owners of the unregistered boats to report to marine authorities in a week, or their boats will be confiscated and sold at auction, he said.
Similar surveys will be conducted later in all 22 coastal provinces, as the government steps up efforts to get rid of unregistered fishing boats, he said.
Next week, the Marine Department will issue regulations to require all shipyard operators to ensure all boats they assemble or repair are registered and given an international maritime organsation number, he said.
This measure is part of the government's intention to make Thailand free of IUU in three years and become a leader in Asean in terms of successful IUU tackling, he said.
