G/TIP VISIT HIGHLIGHTS STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES OF ANTI-TIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000152 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KTIP KWMN PGOV TH SUBJECT: G/TIP VISIT HIGHLIGHTS STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES OF ANTI-TIP WORK IN NORTHERN THAILAND REF: BANGKOK 1376 (THAI GOVERNMENT PLANS MIGRANT WORKER AMNESTY) CHIANG MAI 00000152 001.2 OF 002 Sensitive but unclassified; please handle accordingly. -------------- Summary and Comment -------------- ¶1. (SBU) A G/TIP fact-finding mission to Northern Thailand reaffirmed that NGO's and Thai Government Agencies are working to stem the flow of trafficking in persons cases, though a number of problems remain. Burmese migrants are wary of the consequences of a newly developed migrant worker registration and nationality verification program. Also, alleged corruption and lack of training among local officials, especially police, remains pervasive. Finally, sex trafficking victims sometimes begin as voluntary participants in the sex industry, only to find that they have been deceived about true pay, working conditions, working locations, and debts incurred. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: While the efforts being made by the NGO's and law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking have made a lot of progress, it is difficult not to be frustrated by the number of factors inhibiting greater success. Without greater support in the areas of funding, training, migrant worker awareness and protection, better law enforcement and cooperation between countries, the road ahead will be difficult. The draw of relatively well paid employment and a well-established network of labor recruiters and transporters will continue to ensure a supply of economic migrants, who are often undocumented and vulnerable to trafficking. End Summary and Comment. ¶3. (SBU) On August 26 and 27, Econoff and G/TIPoff traveled to Chiang Mai, Mae Ai, and Mae Sai as orientation for G/TIP's reports officer for Thailand. Econoff and G/TIPoff met with The New Life Center Foundation (NLCF),Migrant Learning Center (MLC),Migrant Justice Program (MJP),Migrant Assistance Program (MAP),International Refugee Committee (IRC),Mae Ai Legal Clinic (MALC),Development and Education Program for Daughters and Communities (DEPDC),Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit Northern Thailand (TRAFCORD),and the Provincial Counter Human Trafficking Taskforce (PCHTT). -------------- -------------- -------------- New registration program, same as the old, nonexistent registration program -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) A newly developed migrant worker registration and nationality verification program has been put into place in Thailand (reftel). According to the Thai government, this program will give migrant workers protection under existing Thai labor laws, access to HEALTH services, and the right to travel while working in Thailand. However, the feedback from multiple NGOs is that this program falls far short of its advertised benefits, and the requirement for Burmese migrant workers to return to Burma for nationality verification may place migrants in greater danger. (Note: Cambodian and Lao migrant workers can have their nationality verified at centers in Thailand set up by their governments. The Burmese Government refused to make comparable arrangements for Burmese workers, and instead requires them to return to Burma to verify their nationality.) ¶5. (SBU) During the visit in August, numerous migrant groups complained that little information about the registration process has been shared with them and migrant communities. According to the migrant groups, migrants are turning to brokers to get them through the registration process. Many who have registered have yet to see access to the mentioned services. One example is motor vehicles. Currently, both registered migrants and illegal immigrants who register through the new program are barred from legal ownership of motor vehicles or drivers licenses, as are unregistered migrants/other illegal immigrants. According to NGO representatives, this makes migrant workers especially susceptible to harassment and corruption by local authorities as they go about their daily tasks (including commuting to and from work). Typical fines for Thai nationals who are caught using a motorbike without a license are $3 to $6, but $60 is often demanded of illegal migrant workers, according to NGOs. ¶6. (SBU) Another shortcoming is in the area of enforcement of Thai Labor laws. Despite entitlement to the Thai minimum wage, unskilled migrant workers generally receive below minimum wage. According to advocates for migrant workers and NGOs that assist them, migrant worker salaries vary by locality, ranging from $4 /day in Chiang Mai to $1.50/day in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot Tak Province. In addition, even if the migrant worker registration program was effective, how many would actually participate remains an open question. Currently Burmese CHIANG MAI 00000152 002.2 OF 002 workers, the largest migrant worker group in Northern Thailand, told us they know little about the registration process and purported benefits, and are hesitant to register out of fear the Burmese government will extort their family members still resident in Burma. The Migrant Learning Center noted reports that some families in Burma of registered Burmese in Thailand were extorted by Burmese officials. (Comment: We have been unable to substantiate reports of such exploitation.) -------------- -------------- -------------- More police corruption to go with your departmental underfunding? -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) According to all the NGO representatives met with during this trip, corruption among local officials, especially police, remains the most significant obstacle to anti-trafficking efforts in Northern Thailand. This corruption can include "taxes" paid to police by sex establishments in exchange for being tipped off ahead of raids, extortion of arrested illegal migrant workers, and fees paid to border officials to smuggle people who may end up being trafficked. The regional TIP Task Force acknowledged that many police are unaware of the trafficking problem, and NGOs also opined that additional training for local police about the new anti-trafficking-in-persons laws is still required to improve their understanding and use of the law. ¶8. (SBU) Local law enforcement officers with the Provincial Counter Human Trafficking Taskforce stated that anti- human trafficking assignments appear less attractive for professionally aspiring police officers than higher profile crime suppression work. This makes it difficult to keep well trained officers in the unit for extended periods of time, they asserted. They also stated that due to the low profile nature of its mission, the unit has received a limited budget for operations, training, and staffing. NGOs noted that most investigatory work on trafficking cases is done by the NGO community, who then hand cases off to the police for follow-up, which is sometimes insufficient to see cases through to successful completion. -------------- -------------- Conditions Different from What Was Expected -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Much trafficking originating from northern Thailand involves the hill tribes and ethnic minorities from neighboring Burma, many of whom are stateless. Overseas destinations for these victims include Malaysia, Singapore, Bahrain, Japan, South Korea, and South Africa. Those who find themselves victims of sex trafficking sometimes enter the sex industry voluntarily, and are then deceived about their conditions and pay, and are forced into situations of debt bondage. ¶10. (SBU) Many Burmese refugees and hill tribe women volunteer to take sex industry jobs overseas due to the lure of higher wages only to find the working conditions and pay far worse than what they expected. Many of these women incurred large debts in order to travel to these countries and are forced to work in the sex industry under sub standard conditions in order to repay that debt. Those heading to South Korea and Japan were reported to have been recruited for what turned out to be sham marriages, only to be co-opted into the sex industry upon arrival. ¶11. (SBU) The Provincial TIP Task Force and TRAFCORD noted a significant number of reported cases where victims were trafficked to Malaysia. TRAFCORD had on record four such cases in ONE month, and noted challenges in facing "heavy duty syndicates," brutal cases of trafficking, and police corruption in Malaysia. The Task Force reported that some women and girls are recruited as housekeepers in Malaysia, and then forced to work in karaoke bars. There are also serious cases of labor trafficking involving fishermen in Sabah, and TRAFCORD representatives stated the group currently has six open cases in which it is assisting the families of such victims to sue the recruitment companies that forced them onto fishing boats. While there have been some sex trafficking victims identified by Malaysian authorities, the Thai Embassy in Malaysia was denied access to the victims, who were "imprisoned" in Malaysian shelters, according to TRAFCORD. ¶12. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassies Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and with G/TIP. ANDERSON