Firsthand accounts of survivors of modern slavery delivered clear calls to action for Asia Pacific leaders at the second annual Thailand Modern Slavery Conference, calling for cohesive and coordinated international approaches as being key to tackling modern slavery in the region.
The conference was held last week in Bangkok and led by Thailand's Office of the Attorney General, supported by the Australian Government funded ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program, the Australian Embassy in Thailand, DFAT, the Canadian Government, the International Organization for Migration, United Nations Development Program, UN Global Compact Network Thailand, International Justice Mission (IJM), A21 and Business and Human Rights Academy, and Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking.
The event aimed to foster international collaboration and facilitate knowledge sharing between government, business, civil society and survivor leaders to counter modern slavery.
Australia's Ambassador to Counter Modern Slavery, People Smuggling and Human Trafficking, Lynn Bell, provided the keynote address, where she spoke about Australia's Modern Slavery Act reforms and congratulated Thailand for its response to addressing human trafficking and forced labour, including efforts to strengthen the criminal justice system and provide services to survivors.
Cambodian survivor leader, Sreyda* (pseudonym) shared her testimony of being deceptively recruited and trafficked through Thailand into Malaysia, where she laboured as a domestic worker from 4am – 11pm every day for 400 days. Although she was promised $1,000 for her family in Cambodia, only $100 ever reached them.
After finally returning to Cambodia, IJM helped Sreyda* file a case against her two traffickers in 2009, which resulted in a conviction and a sentence of 8 years in prison.
Sreyda* shared, "I would like government officials to strictly inspect brokers providing employment services to migrant workers. I want migrant workers who want to work abroad to know how to do it legally and safely."
IJM Australia CEO David Braga stated, "Australia's bilateral partnership with Thailand has resulted in the establishment the Counter Trafficking in Persons Centre of Excellence as the first training facility in the region with a dedicated focus on combatting human trafficking, as announced by Foreign Minister Wong in 2022. "
"IJM recommends that the next phase of Australia's partnership with Thailand should include the rollout of the recently developed training materials by the Counter Trafficking in Persons Centre of Excellence to assist Thai Government officials to correctly identify victims and respond to cases of labour trafficking."
Other panel discussions included preventing modern slavery in supply chains by protecting workers from labour rights abuses, and international cooperation in prosecution of forced labour and protection migrant workers, including identifying victims of forced labour.
"We are grateful for the leadership of Australia on counter-trafficking in the ASEAN region and for the leadership of Thailand to convene this gathering," said Andrew Wasuwongse, Country Director of IJM Thailand.
"This conference and the relationships formed will enable us to drive forward increased collaboration in tackling the crime of modern slavery together," Mr Wasuwongse said.
*A pseudonym has been used for the protection of this survivor; she has given consent to share her image.
