During a visit to Thailand, UN Women incoming Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia visited a market town bordering Myanmar this week to see first-hand how migrant women workers can avoid the hazards of human trafficking by learning about their rights and developing their work skills.
The visit to Mae Sot district in Western Thailand– which shares a border with Myanmar to the west– was to see aUnited Nations programme which addresses prevention of trafficking and works to mitigate the harmful impacts of the migrant flow to Thailand. About 120,000 migrants from Myanmar now live in Mae Sot, two decades after the first Thailand-Myanmar Friendship bridge opened. A second bridge just opened in April, amid growing prosperity along the border areas.
Ms. Bhatia was accompanied by UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Mohammad Naciri, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Chinakorn Assawaphum, Deputy Superintendent of the Crime Suppression Division of Tak province. “Up to five thousand migrants enter into Thailand from this channel per day,” the police officer said. Many members of the community don’t have legal status in Thailand, but they consider Mae Sot their home.
Through the Women’s Empowerment to Prevent Human Trafficking in Communities in Border Provinces of Thailand project, UN Women works with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to empower women to prevent and end human trafficking and gender-based violence in their community. The Government of Japan funds the project.
Throughthe project, 40 female migrant workers in Mae Sot are currently receiving training in sewing and other vocational skills that expand their income opportunities. The project has also reached about 2,000 women in a campaign to raise awareness about safe migration, the rights of female migrant workers, and their special needs during migration.
UN women