Legal Measures of ASEAN to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking (in Thai)

Abstract

This study has been conducted with the following purposes; to study human trafficking situation in ASEAN region and legislative measures of ASEAN in preventing and combatting human trafficking, comparative study with Europe and North America.

The study is based on documentary research by primary sources, and also secondary sources. From the study, it is found that many countries in ASEAN region are all origin, transit and destination points. It is often in the form of forced labor and sexual exploitation. This put ASEAN countries as countries with serious situation in human trafficking problem and most are rated In Tier2 and Tier3 by TIP Report. Another significant problem is the overlapping area between immigrant smuggling and human trafficking. .As a result, it doesn’t reach a central problem of human trafficking. Even though, at present ASEAN has introduced legal measures for preventing and combating human trafficking in person for member states such as Memorandum of Understanding between countries, both multilateral and bilateral; and ASEAN Declaration against Trafficking in Persons Particularly Women and Children to legalize. Nevertheless, they were unable to enforce efficiently and correspond rightly with current situations Therefore; it is of highly importance that ASEAN have the regional standard law in the form of convention on elimination of human trafficking in person which will act as the principle law on human trafficking in ASEAN. Additionally, member state should ratify and concede to validate them for law enforcement to be able to keep abreast with existing situations in ASEAN region nowadays where the human trafficking crisis is worsening. Issued yearly by United States of America Ministry of Foreign Affairs to report human trafficking situation globally.