Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Prior to 1997, Thailand put the focus on
preventive measures, as many young girls
were lured and deceived by false promises of
good jobs, but instead ended up being used
for exploitative commercial sex work.
Information was given through the local and
national media. Thousands of scholarships to
retain girls in schools were provided by the
Ministry of Education, the private sector,
NGOs and concerned individuals. Some
40-50 small groups of parents and community
leaders in the risk areas in the northern
provinces were organized to discuss these
issues, with the use of videos in local dialects.
Income-generating projects for poor families
at risk helped to sustain the livelihood of
those families.
The Sub-Committee on Combating Trafficking
in Women and Children, established in 1994,
was the key national mechanism that
mobilized and coordinated governmental and
non-governmental agencies in anti-trafficking
activities. It was responsible for the
formulation of the First National Policy and
Plan of Action in Eradicating Commercial Sex
Exploitation (1996-2001) and the Second
National Policy and Strategies Combating
Trafficking in Women and Children (20022010). Both were approved by the Council of
Ministers. It also worked with key national
agencies to sign national Memoranda of
24
Dignity and Justice for All of Us
Understanding (MOUs) (2003) and provincial
governors and chiefs of many governmental
and non-governmental agencies at the
provincial level to sign seven regional MOUs
in seven regions in Thailand during 20062008. These MOUs are designed to help
improve coordination and cooperation
among actors, e.g. police, attorneys/
prosecutors, social workers, labour officers,
medical personnel, education officers,
immigration officers, local administrators and
NGOs. The MOUs are based on human rights
principles and use multi-disciplinary, intersectoral and participatory approaches from
rescuing and protecting victims to
prosecution process, recovery and
reintegration programmes, including carrying
out preventive measures. Operation centres at
the provincial level have been created for
these activities as well as the national level
with the Ministry of Social Development and
Human Security.
Anti-trafficking was declared part of the
national agenda in 2004, and funding was
provided. In addition, the Anti-Trafficking in
Persons Fund was created in the 2008
Anti-Trafficking Law, and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has provided some funding for
embassies and consulates with which to help
victims abroad.