On Thursday, 24 December 2015, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs, chaired a meeting with representatives from the private sector and relevant NGOs to discuss the progress made by the government in combatting human trafficking and solving Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. The meeting was attended by representatives from several key players in the private sector, namely the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Thai Frozen Foods Association, the Thai Shrimp Association, the Thai Food Processors’ Association, the National Fisheries Association, Thai Union Group Co., Ltd. and Charoen Pokphand Foods Co., Ltd. Meanwhile, representatives from seven NGOs, namely the Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN), Fight Against Child Exploitation (FACE), the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), the Friends of Women Foundation, Live Our Lives (LOL), Alliance Anti-Traffic and Stella Maris also joined the meeting.

​          The aim of the meeting is to provide a forum for relevant key players to exchange ideas and seek constructive cooperation among key stakeholders to combat human trafficking and IUU.

         In this meeting, the Foreign Minister summarised the progress made continually by the Royal Thai Government in tackling the issue of human trafficking in Thailand. Measures that have been taken to date include, for instance, updating the Anti-Human Trafficking Act 2015, improving the criminal justice system by setting up a Special Human Trafficking Unit within the Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor, and increasing efficiency in the victim identification process. Progress made in solving the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) has also been substantial. Of particular note is the issuance of the new Royal Decree on Fisheries, which enables more effective law enforcement in human trafficking cases in the fishing industry, resulting in arrests and prosecutions of many key suspects involved in trafficking network in this area.

         The meeting discussed and exchange ideas on various topics and agreed on the setting up of a tripartite Working Group consisting of the government, the private sector and the civil society, to join hands in rectifying issues on labour rights, human trafficking and IUU. The government is ready to support proposals submitted by the civil society to solve the problem. This public, private, civil society partnership (PPCP) will be a platform for all stakeholders to cooperate and publicize accurate information to the media and foreign countries.

​          The meeting brought about constructive recommendations for all stakeholders to jointly work together to achieve sustainable result in solving human trafficking and IUU issues. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will push forward these proposals and coordinate with relevant agencies to achieve concrete results.

         The members of the private sector and NGOs recognized and commended the commitment by this Government in combatting human trafficking. They underscored the policies and legislations complied with international norms and standard. They also reaffirmed to jointly work together with the Government to achieve concrete results.