Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that on 15 June 2023, the U.S. Department of State released the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report (2023 TIP Report), assessing the trafficking in persons situation in 188 countries/territories around the world. The 2023 TIP Report placed Thailand in Tier 2 for two consecutive years.
The Report also reflected the Royal Thai Government’s and all stakeholders’ strong efforts and progress in preventing and combatting human trafficking, including the increasing numbers of trafficking investigations, prosecutions, convictions and victim identification, the implementation of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the prosecution and sentencing of complicit officials, and enhanced capacity-building for relevant officials.
The TIP Report uses a system called “Tiers” to categorize countries based on their efforts to combat human trafficking. There are four Tiers and Tier 1 is considered the best:
- Tier 1: This tier includes countries that are meeting the minimum standards set by the U.S. government to combat human trafficking. They have strong laws and policies in place and are actively working to prevent trafficking, prosecute the traffickers, and protect the victims.
- Tier 2: Countries in this tier are making significant efforts to address human trafficking but have some areas that need improvement. They may have laws and policies in place, but their implementation and enforcement may be lacking. These countries still need to do more to combat trafficking effectively.
- Tier 2 Watchlist: This category includes countries that have shown some efforts to combat trafficking, but their overall performance is not sufficient. They are placed on the watchlist because there is a risk of their slipping down to Tier 3 if they do not make significant improvements.
- Tier 3: This tier consists of countries that do not meet the minimum standards to combat human trafficking, and they are not making significant efforts to do so. These countries may have weak or nonexistent anti-trafficking laws and fail to protect victims adequately. They also often have a high prevalence of trafficking within their borders.
The Tiers serve as a way to assess and encourage countries to take action against human trafficking, with the goal of promoting better practices and protecting vulnerable individuals.
Combatting human trafficking has long been one of Thailand’s top national agendas. The Royal Thai Government is fully committed and will continue to improve relevant laws and regulations, enhance operational efficiency, and strengthen partnership with all stakeholders, including private sector and civil society, as well as international organisations, neighbouring countries, and interested parties like the U.S. The ultimate goals are to eradicate all forms of human trafficking as well as protect and prevent Thai citizens and foreign nationals in the country from falling victims to human trafficking, in line with the principles of human rights and humanitarianism to which Thailand has always adhered.
Source: MFA Thailand
