Thailand must pay an economic price for its human trafficking record

Opinion by James Drew

The US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons global report makes for depressing reading. Published last week, it is replete with country-by-country accounts of human beings traded as stock and abused as slaves. The only thing perhaps more maddening is the guilty parties protesting their innocence. Faced with black and white documentation of myriad large-scale abuse on its doorstep, Thailand’s junta has dismissed the report as “inaccurate”. Concern is not confined to Washington. The European Union too remains far from happy with the state of Thailand’s lucrative fishing industry, a major beneficiary of wide-scale trafficking.

Having seized power in a coup last year, Bangkok’s generals continue to thumb their noses at the world. A powerful response is required. And with Thailand’s economy proving increasingly vulnerable, there has rarely been a better opportunity to take the moral stance which the abuse of human beings demands.

The evidence presented in the State Department report is as damning as it is heart-wrenching, highlighting extensive abuse in two particular areas – sex trafficking, which “remains a significant problem” and “forced labour on Thai fishing boats”. Fishing exports were worth a notable $6.9 billion to the Thai economy in 2013. And with $2.5bn of that total destined for the United States and Europe, there should be plenty of food for thought for Westerners who enjoy a tuna sandwich. The State Department documents men forced to work on fishing boats for 18 to 20 hours daily, seven days a week. These virtual slaves are paid minimally if at all, threatened, physically beaten and can remain at sea for years on end. The State Department’s raw assessment is supplemented by the painful anecdotal evidence gleaned by Western journalists. The Guardian (UK) for example recently uncovered numerous cases of mainly Burmese and Cambodian migrants who have been chained, starved, beaten and witnessed countless murders. And all in an effort to pocket maximum profits on prawns which end up in foreign supermarkets. The scale of the inhuman racketeering and naked abuse is hard to ascertain exactly. However, some independent sources have estimated 200,000 unregistered people as working on Thai fishing vessels.

And the state department pulls few punches on the culpability of Thailand’s military rulers in this shameful episode. Not only does the report conclude that 'the government of Thailand does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is not making significant efforts to do so' - it damningly points to active collusion, saying: “Some Thai officials are complicit in trafficking crimes and corruption continues to undermine anti-trafficking efforts.”

Unsurprisingly, the report hands Thailand a Tier 3 ranking for human trafficking, the lowest grade possible. It leaves Bangkok in the illustrious company of countries including North Korea, Eritrea, and Syria.

The government of General Prayuth, who led last year’s coup before appointing himself Thailand’s leader, has vociferously protested its innocence. It argues that the State Department report “does not accurately reflect the significant efforts undertaken by the government to tackle the problem,” claiming to have made “tangible progress”. And yes, the junta has made isolated arrests, while Prayuth recently announced an “anti-human trafficking day,” paying nauseating lip service to the appalling abuse of humanity. However, the State Department stated unambiguously that corruption “continued to impede progress in combatting trafficking” and perhaps more worryingly that the Thai media has been intimidated to shy away from reporting these serious crimes, with dissenting journalists arrested.

This should come as no surprise, given that since seizing power, Prayuth and his henchmen have determinedly silenced non-conformist voices. Measures include a ban on political gatherings of more than five people and a recently proposed new constitutional charter designed to exclude opponents from the political process.

And the stench of Thai repression is now reaching Europe too. In April, the EU  slapped Thailand with a yellow card. Prompted in part by the reality of an industry propped up by slave labour, Brussels warned that unless corrective measures are taken to better monitor and control its fishing industry, “the EU could resort to banning fisheries imports from Thailand.” Given the threat of removing money-spinning fish exports to Europe and a highly damaging message to other lucrative markets, the Thai authorities have desperately scrambled to comply with the Brussels dictate. Betraying more than a hint of desperation, General Prayuth urged his country’s fishermen to co-operate with new regulations, as “if we don't pass these measures a 200bn baht ($6bn) industry could be wiped out”.

And herein lies the key to change, the catalyst towards genuine reforms which could rid Thailand of the stain of human trafficking. Quite simply, money talks. Thailand’s autocrats know that economic prosperity is key to retaining power. And right now, the Thai economy is creaking. Exports just saw their biggest fall in three-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, Thailand’s most severe drought in a decade is likely to see a 15-20% drop in the country’s crucial rice output. Economists have revised their predictions with Credit Suisse forecasting just 2.5% growth, down from 3.1%. Bangkok’s junta can hardly afford another economic blow. The spectre of an EU fishing ban looms large, posing the possibility of a further financial blow and a massively damaged international business reputation.

It is well worth remembering that the United States is Thailand’s second largest trading partner, the EU its third. Consequently, Washington and Brussels enjoy significant leverage over Bangkok. Indeed, European pressure is already making the generals sweat. Further turning the economic screws is the best hope for cleaning up Thailand’s shockingly abusive fishing industry and ending the horrors of slavery for so many Cambodians, Burmese and Rohingya migrants. Furthermore, such results if achieved, could also become a model for rolling back the oppressive measures imposed on the Thai people during the last year, who have helplessly watched their democracy erode. And so a strong stance on human trafficking is not just a moral imperative, but a potential blueprint for much-needed systemic change.

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