Transnational
Trafficking in Persons
Wanchai Roujanavong
Deputy Director-General
International Affairs Department
Office of the Attorney General
Situation of trafficking in the region
A country is or are:
1. Source country (e.g. from Thailand to
Europe, USA, Japan, Australia, Malaysia,
Singapore, etc.);
2. Destination country (e.g. from Myanmar,
Laos, Cambodia, Eastern Europe to
Thailand);
3. Transit country (e.g. from Southern China
through Thailand to Europe and USA).
Types of trafficking found in the region
Forced prostitution
Forced labour or slavery like practices
Forced Begging
Cutting of organs
International instruments on TIP:
• UNTOC
• UNTOC’s Protocol on Prevention and
Suppression of Trafficking in Human,
Especially Women and Children
• CRC
• CRC’s Protocol on the Sale of Children
• ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of
Child Labour
Protocol on Prevention and Suppression of
Trafficking in Human, Especially Women and
Children : Definitions
• “Trafficking in persons” means
• 1 Recruitment , transportation, transfer, harboring or
receipt of persons;
• 2 by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of
coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the buse
of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving
or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person;
• 3 for the purpose of exploitation.
Protocol on Prevention and Suppression of
Trafficking in Human, Especially Women and
Children: Definitions
• Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the
exploitation of the prostitution of others or other
forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or
services, slavery or practices similar to slavery,
servitude or ther removal of organs.
• Consent of the victim of trafficking in persons shall
be irrelevant if any means mentioned above have
been used
International instruments on TIP:
• “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen
years of age.
• If the victim is a child under 18 years of age,
means is not necessary.
• For Adults: elements 1 + 2 + 3
• For Children: elements 1 + 3 (2 is not needed to
establish the crime of trafficking)
Thai laws used to fight against TIP
• Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2008
• Penal Code
• Criminal Procedure Code (provides victim friendly
procedure)
• Child Protection Act
• New Prostitution Act
• Money Laundering Act
• Witness Protection Act
• Extradition Act
• International Cooperation in Criminal Matters Act
• Labor Protection Act
• (Draft Anti Organized Crime Act)
The trend of TIP in modern day
• UN Trafficking protocol:
• Contains substantive and procedural elements to fight
human trafficking;
• Provides definitions of human trafficking and other
related terms; i.e. exploitation, forced labor or service,
and organized criminal group;
• Focuses on protection of and giving assistance to
victims while providing proportionate penalties for
traffickers and those who take part in trafficking
• Provides for measures to fight trafficking in several
forms
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
OFFENCES
The offense of trafficking of adults requires that
three elements be made out:
1. The action of procuring, buying, selling,
vending, bringing from or sending to, detaining
or confining, harboring, or receiving any person
2. By means of the threat or use of force,
abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, or
of the giving money or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over
another person in allowing the offender to
exploit the person under his control
3. For the purpose of exploitation.
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
OFFENCES
The offense of trafficking in children only
requires that two elements be made out:
1. The act of procuring, buying, selling,
vending, bringing from or sending to,
detaining or confining, harboring, or
receiving any person
2. For the purpose of exploitation.
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
OFFENCES
• The Act also makes it an offence to:
– prepare to commit an offence of TIP;
– conspire in order to commit an offence of
TIP;
– commit an offence of TIP outside the
territory of the Kingdom.
•
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
• All offences under the Act are predicate offences
under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. This makes
it possible to confiscate proceeds of crime from TIP
• it is an offences to demand, accept or agree to
accept a property or any other benefit in order to
help the offender of TIP
• Reflect the offences created under the UN AntiTrafficking Protocol and UNTOC
• Establish severe punishment for traffickers and
those who take part in or receive benefit from
trafficking-related crime;
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
• Reflect the offences created under the UN AntiTrafficking Protocol and UNTOC
• Establish severe punishment for traffickers and
those who take part in or receive benefit from
trafficking-related crime;
• Decriminalize the act of illegal entry, prostitution
and using forged document in the case of victims
of trafficking.
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
PENALTIES
• The penalties for trafficking-related crime
prescribed under the Act include:
– 10 years imprisonment for trafficking of adults
– 15 years imprisonment for trafficking of children.
Thai Anti – Trafficking in Persons Act
Substantive law
The law Decriminalize the act of illegal entry, prostitution and
using forged document in the case of victims of trafficking.
Police is prohibited from charging trafficked victims on:
• Specific offences under immigration law (such as illegal
entry)
• the offence of having in possession of or using forged
travel document
• the offence of prostitution and related offences;
• the offence of being an alien working without permission.
VICTIM SUPPORT under the Protocol
States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance
including food, shelter, medical treatment, physical
and mental rehabilitation, education, training, legal
aid, the return to the country of origin.
States Parties shall provide measures that allows
victims of trafficking to seek compensation and
unpaid wages.
VICTIM SUPPORT under the Protocol
States Parties shall provide the victims with adequate
protection both physically and their privacy.
States Parties should encourage the victims to
cooperate with law enforcement to put the traffickers
and exploiters into prison.
In appropriate case, States Parties should allow the
cooperative victims to temporary stay in their
countries and allow them to work, with work permit,
during the court process.
Roles of Governments
• Governments around the world put trafficking
problem into its top agenda and top priority;
• Push all government and public sectors to give
importance in fighting trafficking;
• Provide budget and funding;
• Support law amendments;
• Punish corrupted officials
What had been done
• MOUs on trafficking between Thailand and Laos,
Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam (in the process
of negotiating an MOU with Malaysia)
• Multilateral MOU among 6 countries in Mekong
Sub-Region :- Thailand, Myanmar, Loa, Cambodia,
Vietnam and China
• Strengthen family and communities with social
welfare, education, occupation and income
Complication of TIP
• Trafficking is a complicate, high profit and low risk crime
• It is very difficult to convict a human trafficker due to
difficulty in getting witness cooperation because of
psychological trauma of the victims
• To convict a drug trafficker is ten times easier than
convicting a human trafficker
• Most of human traffickers are considered members of
organized crime in accordance with the UNTOC
Complication of transnational TIP
• It is very difficult to get information and evidence in
transnational TIP
• To have a successful case, sharing of information
between relevant countries, MLA and extradition
are the keys to success in convicting a trafficker
• The next step is co-investigation team
• The use of money laundering law to seize and
confiscate the proceeds of human trafficking
Seminar workshop is the key
• Due to the importance of the judiciary, prosecutor,
police and MLO, and other law enforcement
officials, giving information and knowledge of
trafficking to them is very important and it is the
most effective way to get criminal justice
administration on board to help fight trafficking, and
it is a very cost-effective and sustainable use of
fund in prevention and suppression of human
trafficking.
Thank you