Thailand top attorney to discuss human trafficking
In Thailand, the problem of human trafficking is a national priority. The country"s attorney general, Trakul Winitnaiyapak, a Tulane Law School graduate, will speak on the topic on Feb. 10 on the uptown campus. (Photo from Dollar Photo Club)
The attorney general of Thailand, Trakul Winitnaiyapak, a Tulane Law School graduate, is set to discuss law enforcement efforts to combat human trafficking in his country during a public lecture on Tuesday (Feb. 10) on the Tulane University uptown campus.
Winitnaiyapak, who received an LLM from Tulane in 1975, became attorney general last year.
The public is invited to his address, which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in the Wendell H. Gauthier Appellate Moot Court Room 110 in John Giffen Weinmann Hall, 6329 Freret St. in New Orleans.
The visit is timely, as Tulane Law School initiated a multidisciplinary class on human trafficking law this semester. It is taught by Kara Van de Carr, a 1998 Tulane Law School graduate, who is a former U.S. diplomat and the founder of Eden House, a New Orleans home for women who have survived lives of prostitution and violence.
Course exercises include preparing a plan to help an immigrant child detained for prostitution navigate the legal system, and holding a mock legislative hearing to debate proposed legislation to bar renting hotel rooms by the hour.
Thailand has made eliminating human trafficking a national priority, and Winitnaiyapak has said the problem must be urgently addressed, according to reports in Thai news media.
Among other reforms, the Thai government"s Institute of Justice has proposed assembling a database of cases and human trafficking litigation, conducting seminars on judges" roles in suppressing human trafficking, and training for police and prosecutors to ensure justice for victims.
Thailand is a magnet for millions of migrant workers. The U.S. Department of State"s Trafficking in Persons Report 2014 estimated that tens of thousands of victims in Thailand are forced into exploitative labor or the sex trade. The report recommended a number of improvements in Thailand"s anti-trafficking programs, including more prosecutions, seizing of traffickers" assets; improved services for victims; and increased anti-trafficking awareness efforts.
Linda P. Campbell is Tulane Law School"s director of communications.
Trakul Winitnaiyapak, who received an LLM from Tulane Law School in 1975, became attorney general of Thailand last year.
