Trafficked Persons as Subjects of Rights: A critical perspective on the provision of care services as an instrument of Human Rights Protection in Thailand

National and international legislations to curtail the phenomenon of trafficking in persons in the last decade have met with significant tensions derived from competing interests: the protection of human rights of trafficked persons, the protection of states sovereignty and their borders, and the control of illegal migration. The inclination towards crime over human rights protection is reflected in the removal of the issue of trafficking in persons from a Human Rights debate to the domain of transnational crime control during the process of drafting the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and the 'Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children' together with the 'Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.' This paper demonstrates these shortcomings at two levels: (a) the politics of legislation and (b) the politics of implementation. The 'politics of legislation' at international level is addressed by analysing the negotiation of two Protocols. The battles within the “Vienna process' and the subsequent framing of trafficking through a criminal perspective rather than through a rights perspective has meant that the protection for trafficked migrants becomes weakened. The crime-oriented paradigm does not recognize the diverse patterns of trafficking in different regions and complex nuances within national contexts. Efforts in the prevention of trafficking end up criminalising migration instead of building a committed focus to the social, economic and political causes of migration and its links with trafficking and smuggling. International standards and norms created for the prevention of trafficking and the prosecution of traffickers to which countries prescribe, have been subject to the pressure of the United States, which links trafficking in persons with its foreign policy. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act introduced in 2000 contains the threat of economic sanctions if countries fail to introduce legislative reforms in compliance with the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. To gain insights into the contextually specific aspects of the ‘politics of implementation’ at national level, the paper analyses the case of Thailand, showing how global norms and standards can create further human rights violations for trafficked persons. The paper will bring into focus the Anti-trafficking in Persons' Act B.E 2551, adopted in June 2008 in an attempt to translate international norms to national level, showing how limited proficiency about international definitions among actors in charge of implementation have implications for the (mis)-handling and treatment of trafficked persons. The work of International NGOs and local NGOs are examined to discern the challenges they faced in providing assistance and services to those migrants who transgress national perceptions about trafficking in persons and the agendas. NGO's that creates space for the agency of trafficked persons are examined as an alternative model of care to government controlled shelters which adopt methods in attempts ensure the success crime-oriented policies over rights protection.