The implementation of the trafficking in persons law in Thailand: an overview

Trafficking in persons (TIP) is a long-standing problem worldwide. It is related to the traditional form of slavery which in the history such exploitation was ordinary and legitimate. Currently, TIP is referring to the modern and increasingly diverse and concealed forms of the human beings severe exploitation. It affects almost every nation, the rule of law and the international concepts of human dignity. Thailand has experienced the accumulated problems of TIP since 1980s, combined with the expansion of its sex business that believed to be the most contributor to the present situation. To tackle this problem, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) introduced the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act B. E. 2551 (2008) (ATIPA), the first primary and comprehensive TIP legislation. Having the ATIPA in place however, cases of TIP still recorded on increasing trend. Therefore, this article aims to discuss the legislation, ATIPA, and examine its implementation. The methodology used is a doctrinal legal method where both primary and secondary data sources are used and analytically analysed. The paper presented the prevalence of TIP in Thailand with a focus given to the problems in the implementation of the ATIPA. Among the discussion are the problems of law enforcement officers, identification of trafficking victims, including the investigation and prosecution process. The authors found that despite the progress of the legislation, weak enforcement seemed to be substantial towards its ineffectiveness. Therefore, the enforcement needs to be strengthened in order to tackle and eliminate TIP problem in Thailand