ANTI-TRAFFICKING ENGAGEMENT PAYS DIVIDENDS

UNCLAS BANGKOK 003424 Department for G/TIP MTaylor, DRL/IL MJunk DOL/ILAB for Jennifer Piorkowski and Brandie Sasser SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PHUM KTIP TH SUBJECT: ANTI-TRAFFICKING ENGAGEMENT PAYS DIVIDENDS ¶1. Summary: Over the course of 2008 the Embassy and Consulate General Chiang Mai have continued to broaden and increase our prevention activities in support of the Mission's anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) strategy. Each event has been a success, either energizing our local partners or raising awareness of the human trafficking problem in general. The Mission will seek to replicate this success through similar events in the future. Based on the positive feedback we have received about those events in which the Ambassador's wife participated, we will, where feasible, seek to continue to use her outreach with the local nongovernmental community to push forward our anti-TIP agenda. End summary. ¶2. Since January of this year, Embassy Bangkok and Consulate General Chiang Mai have engaged in a series of activities geared toward the prevention angle of our overall anti-TIP strategy. These events have generally focused on raising awareness of TIP issues, either through site visits to projects focused on victims assistance or through outreach to groups that do not normally focus on human trafficking issues. To maximize our efforts, the Mission has, when feasible, enlisted the support of the Ambassador's wife who has a personal interest in trafficking issues. As examples, Consulate Chiang Mai organized a January 28 visit for Mrs. John to the New Life Center (NLC),a shelter for victims of human trafficking that mostly serves young women and child TIP victims who have been rescued from brothels in the area. At a May 21 follow-on visit to the NLC's facility in Chiang Rai, Mrs. John delivered books donated by the Asia Foundation to the shelter's residents and engaged in a discussion with them on their trafficking experiences. (Note: While in Chiang Rai, Mrs. John also visited and donated books to the Sueksaasongkra School, which has a high population of hill tribe and generally disadvantaged students. End Note.) The NLC Director told the told the Consulate's Poloff that that the women and girls in both shelters were inspired by Mrs. John's visits, photographs of which hang in the shelters' main fuQtion rooms. ¶3. Over the same time frame, the Mission began a series of events in Bangkok to raise awareness on human trafficking among the members of various expatriate groups and associations. On October 16, Mrs. John hosted, at the official residence, the members of the American Chamber of Commerce's Professional Women Committee. Approximately twenty-five American, Canadian, Thai, and other women participated, which constitutes most of the committee's membership. Mrs. John kicked off the event with an explanation of the seriousness of human trafficking and how she had seen first-hand the devastating toll it exacts on victims. The Labor Officer then explained how human trafficking is generally defined, Thailand's role as a source, transit, and destination country, and how the various members of the Embassy's TIP Working Group are collaborating with international and local partners to combat the problem. To provide a specific example of the Mission's work, Post's ICE Attach highlighted his agency's use of the Protect Act to bring to justice, in the United States, American citizens engaged in child sex tourism. ¶4. During the question and answer session that followed, the Embassy officials highlighted both the progress the RTG has made on combating TIP and the complexities of bringing traffickers to justice. The assembled group then discussed various ways in which they as individuals can combat human trafficking: spreading the word on the issue, taking responsibility for the management of their businesses' supply chains, making efforts to ensure products purchased (for personal and business use) are not made through forced labor, donating time and money to non-governmental organizations, etc. After the event, the co-chair of the Professional Women Committee told the Labor Officer that the event hosted by Mrs. John was one of the best the Committee had held all year. ¶5. Based on these successes, the Mission will continue to organize anti-TIP awareness raising activities, and seek opportunities to involve Mrs. John in them. By leveraging her stature in the community to broaden our audience and increase attention to these events, we expect they will continue to pay dividends.