Introduction
Human trafficking is one of the most profitable sorts of illegal trade in the world. As a result, it has become a global security concern that encourages corruption, illegal migration, and terrorism. Every year, an estimated 25 million people are recruited and exploited throughout the world, with the majority of them being women and children (Cain & Rothe, 2022). Sexual exploitation, forced labor, domestic slavery, organ trafficking, compelled criminality, and begging are all forms of exploitation in human trafficking. This paper explores the anti-trafficking protocol and Thailand’s human trafficking laws.
Protocol Analysis
Human trafficking can occur both within and outside of a country; nonetheless, crossing a border is commonly connected with this type of crime. This is why international cooperation is essential in preventing trafficking and prosecuting traffickers. With the approval of the Protocol, as a complement to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, an attempt was made to address the epidemic. States that ratify the Protocol are obligated under Article 2 of the Protocol to prevent and combat human trafficking, protect and help victims of such trafficking, and foster cooperation among States Parties (UN General Assembly, 2000). This Protocol is intended to assist in the creation of a common approach to national criminal offenses across diverse nations in order to facilitate practical international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of these crimes.
An analysis of the Protocol reveals crucial areas that should be highlighted. The idea incorporates almost all sorts of human trafficking, including but not limited to trafficking for sexual exploitation, as well as other forms of exploitation such as forced labor, slavery-like behaviors, and organ removal (Cain & Rothe, 2022). Furthermore, the provision does not limit trafficking victims to women but acknowledges that persons of any gender and age – women, girls, men, and boys – can be victims of trafficking (UN General Assembly, 2000). The term does not need a victim to cross an international boundary. Internal trafficking, in which victims are trafficked from one location to another inside the same nation, is a recognized crime.
Despite its global recognition and continued active enforcement, the Protocol has a critical flaw: the fact that human trafficking is only reported when the criminal conduct is international in scope. Crimes committed on the territory of one state do not fit under this definition in the global sense and are subject to national criminal law. Another shortcoming of the Protocol is its inability to adapt to changing conditions, particularly the introduction of new facets of human trafficking. The Protocol establishes specific measures for States based on the classification of this sort of criminal action into three “traditional” categories (Cain & Rothe, 2022).
While these characteristics do not change, the conditions, techniques, places, and effects of inhuman trafficking do. For example, the rising popularity of sexual exploitation of individuals on the Internet does not find appropriate solutions to prohibit it inside the Protocol’s framework. Thus, the Protocol does not fully address the problem of trafficking in persons. Adding items such as Internet trafficking as well as domestic trafficking could help to address the issue.
Analysis of Trafficking Legislation in Thailand
The issue of human trafficking is widely reflected in Thailand’s society, economy, and security. Thailand is regarded as a source, transit country, and destination for human trafficking, and the problem of human trafficking is now prevalent in many sections of the country. In the last ten years, women and children from the state have been unlawfully transported to Japan for commercial sexual exploitation (Mutaqin, 2021). Men, boys, women, and children are trafficked inside Thailand for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.
Thailand places a high priority on this issue, and its policy tries to repress and remedy human rights breaches, which are the most profound aspects of people trafficking. A person who publishes an advertisement for sexual services may be fined 1,000 baht under Section 5 of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution in Thailand Act of 1996 (Thailand: Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act B.E. 2539. 1996). The Act also emphasizes the gravity of child trafficking violations. It underscores that individuals found guilty of having intercourse with children will face harsher punishments and lengthy jail sentences.
Penalties vary from 5 to 20 years in prison, with fines ranging from 100,000 to 400,000 baht (Thailand: Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act B.E. 2539. 1996). These restrictions, however, do not apply to rape, bodily assault, and other major felonies. If convicted of these charges, the consequences can be substantially harsher, including lengthy jail terms. Thailand changed measures to prevent sex trafficking in 2008, which made a difference (Thailand: Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act B.E. 2539. 1996). The concept of human trafficking was enlarged by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to include trafficking for labor exploitation and trafficking of male victims.
Conclusion
Thailand’s human trafficking legislation has flaws of its own. However, other analysts argue that human trafficking in Thailand persists only due to government corruption and that strengthening legislation would not solve the issue. Corruption at the highest levels of the Thai government continues to obstruct investigations and prosecutions, as evidenced by the flight to Australia in December 2015 of a high-ranking human trafficking investigator seeking political asylum (Mutaqin, 2021).
According to the major general, his human trafficking investigations have been linked to senior leaders in Thailand’s police and military, and he now fears for his life (Mutaqin, 2021). He said prominent people are involved in human trafficking, and the country has a corrupt police and military (Mutaqin, 2021). This makes it challenging to abolish human trafficking in the country, putting inhabitants’ and tourists’ lives in jeopardy. Thus, the legislation does not address the problem of trafficking in persons in Thailand. The government can consider revising legislation and eradicating corruption to ensure the safety of its people and the people of other countries.
References
Cain, C. M., & Rothe, D. L. (2022). Human trafficking: International criminal law and human rights for some but not all. In Human Rights and International Criminal Law, pp. 94-118. Brill Nijhoff. Web.
Mutaqin, Z. Z. (2021). Modern-day slavery at sea: Human trafficking in Thai fishing industry. In ASEAN International Law, pp. 461-480. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. Web.
Thailand: Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act B.E. 2539 (1996). Web.
UN General Assembly. (2000). Protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against transnational organized crime. Web.