Bangkok: Senior officials from China and five Southeast Asian nations
gathered in the Thai capital Wednesday to thrash out a new framework for fighting human trafficking in the region.

Representatives from Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam were due to hammer out an inaugural agreement to address the problem that sees some 800,000 men, women and children trafficked annually across borders in a billion-dollar illicit trade.

It was the first time the countries came together to combat what
Thailand’s minister of social development and human security, Sora-at Klinpratoom, described as a “modern-day form of slavery”.

“We must admit that the problem is a major one, and that it has huge
impacts on the rights and livelihoods of our peoples,” he said in an
opening speech.

“The long land-borders that our countries share, and the geography of those border areas, makes it almost impossible to control these movements.

“Accordingly we have to work together, as good neighbours, to solve these problems.”

The meeting is working on a memorandum of understanding that is expected to be signed by ministers of the six nations in Myanmar’s capital Yangon in October.

The countries of the region have been strongly criticized for failing to
recognize the scale of the problem.

In June the United States downgraded Thailand on its human trafficking watchlist for failure to make progress in stamping out the global scourge.

Thailand joins other Southeast Asian nations placed on the so-called “Tier Two watchlist” including Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam, while neighbouring Myanmar remains at Tier Three, the lowest level.

Earlier this month US President George W. Bush announced that 50 million dollars would be given to eight countries including Southeast Asia’s Cambodia and Indonesia to fight trafficking.

The projects will focus primarily on fighting sex slavery, the
fastest-growing category of trafficking, according to the US State
Department.