Nomination for the Department of Labor's Iqbal Masih Award

UNCLAS BANGKOK 003081 Department for DRL/IL MJunk and G/TIP MTaylor Labor for ILAB/OCFT SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PHUM KTIP TH SUBJECT: Nomination for the Department of Labor's Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor REFS: A) STATE 99123 B) Bangkok 6093 C) Bangkok 5990 ¶1. Embassy Bangkok in coordination with Consulate General Chiang Mai enthusiastically nominates TRAFCORD for the Department of Labor's Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. Nomination Package -- Data Summary -------------- ¶2. Organization Name: Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit - Northern Thailand (TRAFCORD) Executive Director: Ben Svasti Street Address: 5th floor, Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Center, Chotana Road, Chang Puek Sub-district, Muang District, Chiang Mai 50300 Telephone and Fax Numbers: (66)53-121809, (66)53-121908 Email addresses:admin@trafcord.org, report@trafcord.org, trafcord_cm@yahoo.com Website: www.trafcord.org/about_eng.php Nomination Package -- Executive Summary -------------- ¶3. Established in 2002 in response to a marked rise in cases involving the trafficking of women and children from the Mekong region, TRAFCORD, the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit, was set up in upper Northern Thailand. TRAFCORD acts as a coordination center between government and non-government agencies active in addressing human trafficking (TIP) cases, particularly involving women and children. Sponsored by the USG, the Asia Foundation, and UNICEF, the unit has been at the forefront of the successful "multi-disciplinary" approach to trafficking cases in the region. When TRAFCORD employees suspect the presence of child prostitutes (often in a brothel or karaoke bar),they work with police, social workers (public or private),prosecutors, and other relevant government and NGO officials to rescue, rehabilitate, and repatriate them. By coordinating government and private agencies prior, during, and after raids on suspected establishments, they help ensure that victims receive improved treatment and access to services, and that criminal cases have a better chance of being successfully prosecuted. ¶4. TRAFCORD's multi-disciplinary approach has been adopted by other organizations in Thailand, including through formal memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed with relevant officials representing seventeen Northern provinces in Thailand. As such, TRAFCORD has catalyzed the updating of procedures for dealing with TIP cases and coordinated their implementation, often providing training in the process. TRAFCORD's work therefore also informed the key change to Thailand's national anti-trafficking legal framework: a new, comprehensive anti-TIP law that came into force in June 2008 (Refs B-C). ¶5. TRAFCORD's multi-disciplinary team approach, as explained in various international forums (from Hawaii to Rome to Geneva),has generated positive international attention in support of the most effective ways to fight against child prostitution and other TIP crimes. Many, such as the Director General of the International Organization for Migration, have praised the unit and its staff for "providing useful insights and guidance." By TRAFCORD's own estimation, their education efforts have also significantly reduced police involvement in trafficking by informing the authorities about the exploitative nature of the practice. Similarly, TRAFCORD's comprehensive anti-child labor/TIP activities, including its public relations and media efforts, have raised awareness about the worst forms of child labor and inspired other organizations and individuals to adopt more effective multidisciplinary strategies to end them, particularly by establishing youth clubs and a network of community volunteers who provide valuable information about unusual activities in their area that could be related to TIP. Much of this success has come at significant personal risk; accompanying police on raids against brothels and karaoke bars is dangerous, and many investigators have pressed on despite pleas their families to resign. ¶6. Due to these factors, Embassy Bangkok and Consulate General Chiang Mai strongly believe TRAFCORD is deserving of the Department of Labor's Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. ENTWISTLE