On 16 January 2013, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, along with Mr. Phadermchai Sasomsub, Minister of Labour, Mr. Santi Promphat, Minister of Social Development and Human Security, Mr. Siriwat Kajornprasart, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and Mr.Anusorn Kraiwatnussorn,Vice Minister of Labour, lead a delegation of diplomatic corps from 11 countries in the American and Pacific region and the EU on a study tour of the Operations Centre of the Royal Thai Police, as well as to Samut Sakhon Province to visit a frozen shrimp factory which had been accused and referred to in foreign media reports as receiving raw material from a shrimp peeling facility that uses child labour, employs workers who do not possess work permits and engages in human trafficking (Thai Royal Frozen Food factory which produces frozen shrimps for export and Long Sor Somphon shrimp peeling facility which supplies the raw materials).  At the end of the study tour the Deputy Prime Minster and Foreign Minister gave a press interview whose gist is as follows:

1.  In June of last year, Thailand was granted a waiver from being downgraded to Tier 3, which is the lowest ranking of the United States’ Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) and remained in the Tier 2 Watch List because Thailand submitted to the United States in March of last year its plan of action to counter trafficking in persons for 2012 - 2013.  In addition, Thailand had continually raised the issue for high-level discussions with the United States.  In particular, during his visit to Washington in June last year, the Deputy Prime Minster and Foreign Minister had the opportunity to bring the matter to Secretary Hilary Clinton’s attention, as well as to those of the members of the United States Senate’s Friends of Thailand Caucus.

2.  The Deputy Prime Minster and Foreign Minister was assigned by the Prime Minister to follow up on the progress of the various agencies in implementing Thailand’s plan of action to counter trafficking in persons that had been submitted to the United States.  Therefore, he established a special task force to keep track of such progress, headed by the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of American and South Pacific Affairs and comprised of agencies involved with the prevention and suppression of human trafficking.

3.  The Deputy Prime Minster and Foreign Minister was also assigned by the Prime Minster to hold discussions with the private sector, namely, the Thai Frozen Foods Association and the Thai Food Processors Association, and came to learn about the fact  that foreign media and NGOs had spread news accusing that shrimp exports from Thailand were inexpensive because of the use of child labour, illegal workers and human trafficking.  Reference was also made to the Thai Royal Frozen Food factory, which produces frozen shrimps for export to the United States, Canada and the EU as sourcing raw material from a shrimp peeling facility which uses child labour and illegal workers. This affects the image of Thai processed seafood products, especially shrimp products, as well as Thailand’s overall image particularly with respect to the prevention and suppression of human trafficking which is an issue of importance for the government.

4.  After holding the said discussions with the private sector, the Deputy Prime Minster and Foreign Minister conferred with Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Ubumrung, Mr. Phadermchai Sasomsub, Minister of Labour and Mr. Santi Promphat, Minister of Social Development and Human Security on the possibility of organizing a study tour for the diplomatic corps of various countries that place importance on this issue, especially from the American and Pacific region and the EU to visit a factory that produces processed seafood for export including a factory that produces the raw material, which is the Long Sor Somphon shrimp peeling facility, so that the diplomatic corps can observe first hand the level of strictness of export production standards, which includes labour standards, that these factories adhere to. Such standards include those prescribed and controlled by state authorities, as well as those which the private sector voluntarily complies with to gain competitive advantages in international trade. At the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week, the Frozen Foods Association informed that companies who are members of the Association are ready and willing to allow foreign Embassies to inspect the companies’ work.  In this regard, the government will establish a mechanism for transmitting inspection requests from the Embassies to the Association.

5.  The diplomatic corps and the media, both Thai and foreign, were invited to join in this study tour and more than 15 ambassadors and representatives from Embassies based in Thailand participated. The objective is for the participants to help create public awareness in order to contribute to the prevention of the use of child and forced labour, which may also be linked to human trafficking. He also hoped that they will help spread the news and facts that shrimp exports from Thailand comply with production standards that include labour standards, so that consumers will have correct information and be assured that Thai shrimps are certainly not produced using child labour and are not involved with human trafficking.

6.  Another part of the activities was the study tour of the Operations Centre of the Royal Thai Police in the morning, as well as the meeting with Samut Sakhon’s Operation Centre on Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking so that the diplomatic corps could observe the operations of an agency responsible for law enforcement and the prevention and suppression of human trafficking.

7.  The Deputy Prime Minster and Foreign Minister informed and emphasized to the diplomatic corps that the government would be pleased to receive evidence of human trafficking from the diplomatic corps, international organizations and NGOs so that further action could be taken.  In addition, the study tour that was organized this time is not a one off event and more study tours would be organized for the diplomatic corps to observe other actions taken by Thailand to suppress human trafficking, such as the protection of victims of human trafficking and legal action taken in human trafficking cases.