Thailand continued to be in the Tier 2 Watch List in the 2017 Trafficking in Persons report, as the Thai government had not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, the US State Department said.

Though the Kingdom maintained the same status as last year, the report said the Thai government had demonstrated significant efforts during the reporting period.

The authorities had seized more than Bt784 million from traffickers, reported more investigations, prosecutions, and convictions, convicted a business owner complicit in forced labour in the fishing sector, and extended the amount of time foreign trafficking victims and witnesses were permitted to stay and work in Thailand, it said.

However, the government did not demonstrate increased efforts compared to the previous reporting period, it said.

It did not aggressively prosecute and convict officials complicit in trafficking crimes, and official complicity continued to impede anti-trafficking efforts, the report added.

Officials identified fewer victims compared to the previous reporting period and although the number of forced-labour investigations saw a slight increase, the number of labour-trafficking investigations was low compared to the scale of the problem.

“Therefore, Thailand remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year,” it said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had said earlier that it did not matter what Thailand’s rating was, but his government would continue combating human trafficking as it was on the national agenda.

Meanwhile Thai Foreign Ministry on Tuesday slammed the report for not “doing justice” by keeping Thailand in the Tier 2 Watch List for another year.

Being placed in the Tier 2 Watch List, the second lowest ranking out of four, suggests an acknowledgement that the country has made significant efforts to tackle human trafficking but still does not comply with US standards.

“The Thai government’s efforts to tackle human trafficking are not aimed at any evaluation,” the ministry said, adding the government’s efforts were aimed at protecting Thai and foreign people in the Kingdom from human trafficking and to uphold humanitarian principles.

Thailand has also made progress in policy initiatives, in the prosecution of wrong-doers and complicit officials, in prevention of potential victims, in the protection of witnesses and victims, and by forging partnerships with various groups of stakeholders, both domestic and foreign, the ministry said.

Despite the US report not showing any improvement in Thailand’s standing, the Thai government remained “firmly committed to address human trafficking while seeking to further strengthen and expand cooperation with concerned partners”.