BANGKOK — January 14, 2015 — Thailand must empower victims of trafficking and forced labour to complain and must crack down on corrupt officials if it wants to tackle its human trafficking problem, activists and food industry executives say.
Thailand is scrambling to clean up its act after the U.S. State Department named it in June as one of the world's worst centres for human trafficking, saying it was a source, destination and transit country for forced labour.
The State Department said most victims of trafficking in Thailand were from neighbouring countries and were forced or defrauded into labour, with tens of thousands exploited in the commercial sex trade, on fishing boats or as domestic servants.
As it prepares to submit a report on 2014 to the State Department by March, Thailand has announced a slew of measures including steep fines for offenders and a budget to hire 700 anti-corruption staff to investigate cases.
In interviews with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, rights activists, Thai food industry association leaders and executives of the world's largest seafood companies – some of which have been accused of exploiting trafficked and forced labour – said serious law enforcement was key.
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