Chapter 1 Smuggling of migrants and labour WUDI¿FNLQJZLWKLQWKH*UHDWHU0HNRQJ6XE Region Counterfeit Goods (EAP to Europe and US) $24.4 bn Illegal wood products from EAP $17 bn Heroin within EAP $16.3 bn Methamphetamines within EAP $15 bn Fraudulent medicines (EAP to SEA and Africa) $5 bn IIllegal e-waste to EAP $3.75 bn Illegal wildlife in EAP $2.5 bn Migrant smuggling (E and SE Asia to Europe and US) $1.55 bn Migrant smuggling (GMS to Thailand) $192 m Sex trafficking (GMS to Thailand and Cambodia) $181 m Migrant smuggling (S and W Asia to Australia and Canada) $97.3 m Illegal ODS to EAP $67.7m $ bn = US$ in billions $ m = US$ in millions Labour trafficking (GMS to Thailand) $33 m 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 5 dƌĂŶƐŶĂƟŽŶĂůKƌŐĂŶŝnjĞĚƌŝŵĞdŚƌĞĂƚƐƐĞƐƐŵĞŶƚͲĂƐƚƐŝĂĂŶĚƚŚĞWĂĐŝĮĐ NATURE OF THE THREAT Human trafficking: 1. Slave-like conditions: human 2. Forms of control: sexual exploitation; beings treated as disposable commodities domestic servitude; forced marriage; forced – immense – often hideous – emotional, labour (especially in construction and fishing psychological and physical damage done to industry); debt bondage; imprisonment; victims. violence and torture; child begging. Migrant smuggling: 1. Deadly risks and loss of human 2. Human rights abuses – irregular life – smuggled migrants are exposed to status of migrants creates vulnerabilities to deadly risks, including loss of life, en route discrimination, exploitation, and trafficking to destination. Thousands of migrants in persons. Smuggled migrants often end die each year during the process of illegal up with dangerous jobs. They are often migration. excluded from health, education and other social welfare provisions. 3. Economic impact – the illegal 4. Threat to state security – migrant economy creates unfair competition, and smuggling is a high-profit / low-risk crime. undermines wages and social protection, loss It empowers criminals and undermines state of legitimate tax revenue for governments. security due to links with organized crime, violence, and corruption. People cross borders without the host states’ consent and knowledge. 5. Corruption – fuels corruption among 6. Cost of law enforcement – costs public officials. to the state to improve border security measures, conduct search and rescue operations (e.g. with maritime smuggling), and provide protection and assistance. 6 Chapter 1 This chapter deals with two areas of crime usually country has suffered from decades of economic regarded as distinct: the trafficking of labourers and stagnation due to conflict, centralized economic the smuggling of migrants. In common parlance, control, and sanctions against the government. the words “trafficking” and “smuggling” are often Conflict has also directly displaced a great number of interchanged, but they are different processes. For people. Recent migration registration data indicates this reason, when the international community that most migrants in Thailand are nationals of designed the UN convention on transnational Myanmar. organized crime, the need to prohibit two independent offences was recognized. “Trafficking” Figure 1: GNI per capita in 2010 9000 defines conscious acts that lead to and create 8190 situations in which people are forced to work against 8000 their will, while “smuggling” is the act of assisting 7000 irregular migration, motivated by material or 6000 financial gain. 5000 4000 US dollars 3000 2440 1950 2080 Within the Greater Mekong Subregion, however, 2000 the two offences are closely interlinked. Away from 1000 their home communities and in their ‘host’ country 0 illegally, smuggled migrants have little basis for Myanmar Cambodia Lao PDR Thailand asserting their rights as workers, including the basic ^ŽƵƌĐĞ͗dŚĞtŽƌůĚĂŶŬϮϬϭϮ right to be paid for their labour. Moreover, what begins as a voluntary search for a better life can often Figure 2: Breakdown of registered migrant descend into exploitation and slavery. workers in Thailand from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar (2010) In recent years, East and Southeast Asian economic Lao PDR 7% growth has pulled millions out of poverty. However, Cambodia in some cases, labour conditions can be harsh. What 6% might be deemed “exploitation” in some countries would be considered decent employment in other parts of this region. Nonetheless, there are basic standards, lines that should not be crossed, and Myanmar although most migrant labourers return to their 87% families enriched, others are subjected to treatment that violates basic human rights. ^ŽƵƌĐĞ͗KĸĐĞŽĨ&ŽƌĞŝŐŶtŽƌŬĞƌƐĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ͕ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚŽĨ 1. What is the nature of the market? ŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ͕DŝŶŝƐƚƌLJŽĨ>ĂďŽƵƌ͕dŚĂŝůĂŶĚ Thailand is a magnet for regional labour. Classed as Figure 3: Areas of employment of registered an upper middle-income country, it has produced migrant workers in Thailand from Cambodia, sustained economic growth for more than two Lao PDR and Myanmar (2010) decades. Rapid growth has come more recently Fishing for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar, but they Household 3% remain among the 50 least-developed countries in 9% the world. Since the early 1990s, millions of workers from the region have migrated to Thailand, finding Construcon work in the lightly-regulated fishing, seafood, 16% Other 53% agriculture, construction, and service industries. Agriculture and Both men and women migrate, in roughly equal farming 19% numbers. Myanmar, in particular, has contributed significantly ^ŽƵƌĐĞ͗KĸĐĞŽĨ&ŽƌĞŝŐŶtŽƌŬĞƌƐĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ͕ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚŽĨ to the pool of migrant labourers (see Figure 2). The ŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ͕DŝŶŝƐƚƌLJŽĨ>ĂďŽƵƌ͕dŚĂŝůĂŶĚ 7 dƌĂŶƐŶĂƟŽŶĂůKƌŐĂŶŝnjĞĚƌŝŵĞdŚƌĞĂƚƐƐĞƐƐŵĞŶƚͲĂƐƚƐŝĂĂŶĚƚŚĞWĂĐŝĮĐ Figure 4: Thailand: Migrants registered in 2009 by gender Although formal recruitment channels exist, and nationality they are relatively new and most migrants still prefer to enter Thailand irregularly for 1,200,000 several reasons. This is because complying 1,000,000 with the law: 800,000 487,999 • takes time, typically delaying earnings 600,000 by some three to six months; 400,000 • is expensive, costing the equivalent of 2 591,992 four to five months’ wages; and 200,000 • is restrictive, because work permits are 45,868 57,968 0 79,034 53,071 valid for just two years and can only Myanmar Cambodia Lao PDR be extended once, after which the Male Female migrant must wait three years before ^ŽƵƌĐĞ͗KĸĐĞŽĨ&ŽƌĞŝŐŶtŽƌŬĞƌƐĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ͕ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚŽĨŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ͕ re-applying. DŝŶŝƐƚƌLJŽĨ>ĂďŽƵƌ͕dŚĂŝůĂŶĚ In addition, formal migration also does not necessarily guarantee better legal protection or The desire to migrate is not just about economics. higher net earnings for migrants. The high costs Among young Lao, for example, a period of of formal recruitment can place workers in debt migrant labour is seen as a kind of rite of passage.1 bondage to their employer or recruiter.3 Although For Lao, Thailand is a natural destination because contracts provide migrants with legal protection, few of cultural, social, and linguistic similarities. Thai understand their rights well enough to assert them. media, ubiquitous in Southeast Asia, portrays an Just like smugglers, formal recruiters can unwittingly exciting and modern lifestyle, in stark contrast to channel workers to employers who exploit them. the boredom and monotony of rural life. Returning Smuggling, in contrast, is immediate and relatively migrants often flaunt the sophistication and wealth cheap, with the cost as low as one-fifth of the associated with having worked in a relatively rich costs of a work permit. Smugglers often act as society, and longer-term emigrant communities employment agents, transporting workers to waiting provide social networks for those looking to spend jobs. Employers may even prefer recruiting irregular time abroad. workers, who are more flexible and allow tax avoidance. They may therefore contract smugglers Too often, unfortunately, high expectations are met to supply them. Employers are also required to pay with disappointment. Migrants can find themselves fees to participate in formal recruitment. As a result, indebted and in jobs that do not match what it is estimated that regular migrants meet just 7% of recruiters had promised. In extreme cases, they may Thailand’s total demand for migrant workers.4 be trafficked, unpaid or deprived of their freedom. Their vulnerability to exploitation is rooted in their Smuggled migrants are at greater risk of deportation. irregular status. In 2010, Thai authorities arrested over half a million nationals from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar The exact figure is unknown, but irregular migrants for immigration-related offenses, including illegal undoubtedly represent a significant percentage of entry (see Figure 5).5 the Thai labour pool. A 2009 registration process resulted in 1.3 million applications for regularization, Nevertheless, the majority of these irregular migrants and one which was offered 18 months later brought get what they came for: employment at better wages in another million applicants. Nevertheless, many than they would have received at home. They are irregular migrants remain unregistered, deterred by usually paid promptly and they are allowed to stop a number of reasons (e.g., not being of labour force age, burdensome procedures and fees associated with the process, inability to verify nationality). 2 Martin 2009 3 Martin 2009 4 Chantavanich 2008 1 UNFPA GMS 2011 5 RTP 2011 8 Chapter 1 working when it is no longer in their self-interest to Seafood processing is another area where trafficking do so. has been reported. In 2006, police found approximately 800 imprisoned