Thailand has been upgraded in the US 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, thanks to the country's overall better work in the past months, according to the US State Department.
The country was moved up from the Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2 in the latest report released by the State Department on Tuesday night.
"The government of Thailand does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so," the report said.
It also said the government demonstrated increasing efforts overall compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; as such, Thailand was upgraded to Tier 2.
These efforts, the report said, included increasing the number of investigations, finalising a national referral mechanism (NRM), authorising a 45-day reflection period, finalising implementation guidelines for the forced-labour provision of the anti-trafficking law, and initiating investigations against 17 alleged complicit officials in 2021 and jailing two of them.
The government also opened a new trafficking victim identification centre, developed guidelines for labour officials to refer suspected trafficking victims to multidisciplinary teams, and identified more victims than in the previous reporting period, said the report.
However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas, while the number of prosecutions and convictions fell compared with the previous reporting period, it added.
Despite reports that forced labour was prevalent among migrant workers in many industries in Thailand, inconsistent and ineffective interviewing practices during inspections left many trafficking victims unidentified.
Officials often lacked an understanding of indicators of labour trafficking, and Thai authorities had yet to report identifying a trafficking victim as a result of fishing vessel inspections in ports, the report said.
Significant gaps remained in the government's provision of services to victims, and some victims residing in government shelters lacked freedom of movement, the report said, adding that corruption and official complicity continued to impede anti-trafficking efforts.
Among 14 points highlighted as areas where Thailand should try harder is for the country to scale up law enforcement, prosecutions and convictions, particularly in forced labour cases.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomed the upgrade, saying it reflected the country's harder work in its endless fight against human trafficking.
In last year's TIP Report, Thailand was demoted from Tier 2 to the Tier 2 Watch List. If it had remained on the watch list for two consecutive years, it would have been automatically moved down to Tier 3.
The government has always treated suppression and prevention of human trafficking as a national agenda item, said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana yesterday.
Working alongside various local and international organisations, the government aims to combat all forms of human trafficking, he said.
Gen Prayut also expressed his gratitude for the good work by all parties taking part in this important mission, said Mr Thanakorn.
Some international relations experts, however, said there might be a little more behind the upgrade.
"Well, according to some critics, nations with close ties to the US -- the US's so-called good boys -- usually get a better score. It's more or less a reward for maintaining close links with the US or becoming an enemy of China," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a former international relations lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.
Judging by a recent statement made to Congress by the new US ambassador to Thailand, the US wants Thailand to cooperate more, he said. The upgrade means better trade benefits as tariffs will likely be lowered.