 |
|
Nary* was trafficked 5 times before the age of 18. Now living in a World Vision-supported shelter for abused children and with a better knowledge of her rights, she says she will never let it happen again.
More about Trafficking in Asia
|
|
|
Freedom Day: World Vision Foundation of Thailand joins in the liberation of modern slavery.
“Not a single country is spared from human trafficking crisis.”
Human trafficking has become a global crisis. Based on the statistics from International Labor Organization (ILO) it is estimated that at least 2.5 million people worldwide work as slaves or in other forms of forced labour and more than $3,200 million dollars are being profited and circulated in the human trade.
On 5 June 2008 the much-awaited Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act will finally be effective and will put Thailand after Cambodia and Myanmar whose anti-human trafficking laws have already been successfully ratified. The launch of the new legislation does not only highlight a strong commitment from the Thai government that determine to put an end to human trafficking but also express its intention to increase involvement of civil society to protect human rights.
World Vision Foundation of Thailand (WVFT) has been working with the Thai government and its partner organisations in human trafficking issues for over 10 years. From our experiences i.e. the recent rescue of 66 Burmese survivors in Ranong restricted access to information complicated the victim identification process, which directly determined the level of protection from the law enforcement and civil society that could be provided to the victims.
In the new law there are rights-based measures that have been introduced to effectively manage human trafficking cases as well as providing more protection to victims of trafficking. It’s a victim-based approach,” explained Miss Oratai Junsuwanaruk, World Vision’s Anti Trafficking and Advocacy Programme Manager.
In 2008 Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act they are 4 major improvements to ensure better protection for trafficked victims:
- National Committee to Combat Trafficking, headed by the Prime Minister
- Inclusion of men as victims of trafficking
- Support Funds for Trafficking in Persons
- Harsher penalty to perpetrators.
Currently, World Vision Foundation of Thailand (WVFT) operates in 53 provinces throughout the country, working in community development, child advocacy, education, health, micro-finance enterprise and emergency relief. For over 30 years it has also been an ardent advocate in children’s rights.
In anti-human trafficking related issues WVFT works with migrant workers in 5 areas: Mae Sot, Mae Sai, Ranong, Mukdaharn and Aranyaprathet. WVFT’s engagement to influence the establishment of positive and enabling policy environment to effectively combat trafficking in persons and strengthen prevention approaches at source and transit communities, repatriation in the destination countries in the Asia Pacific region includes the Regional Advocacy Child Trafficking Project (RACTP) and the Mekong Delta Regional Trafficking Strategy (MDRTS), which run in 6 and 5 Greater Mekong Sub-region countries, respectively.
For more information, please contact
Oratai Junsuwanaruk
Anti Trafficking and Advocacy Programme Manager
World Vision Foundation of Thailand
Telephone: 0-2381-3363-5 ext. 473
Fax: 0-2381-4924
E-mail : THA_Advocacy
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
*Nary’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
|
