Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has ordered state agencies to speed up solving human trafficking problems in the country in the hope Thailand will be reinstated as a Tier 2 nation in 2022.
Thailand was demoted from Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watchlist in 2021's Trafficking in Persons Report.
Pol Gen Thammasak Witcharaya, deputy secretary-general of the Prime Minister who oversees political affairs, said on Saturday Gen Prawit, chairman of the national committee on prevention and suppression of human trafficking, has ordered state agencies to speed up tackling human trafficking, including child trafficking for sexual exploitation.
He also reported progress made by a sub-committee presided over by Gen Prawit on human trafficking including a meeting with representatives from the hotel sector and NGOs on Feb 24.
The sub-committee's remit also takes in child sex tourism, its objectives in line with United Nations World Tourism Organisation efforts aimed at tackling sex trafficking as well as child worker abuse. Procedures also were drafted to detect forced labour and provide aid for abused workers, with implementation accelerated for completion in March, he said.
The meeting also addressed the justice process in tackling human trafficking in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, he said. Reports of Thais being trafficked in neighbouring countries persist.