HumanTrafficking.org | Thailand International Organization: Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW)

A web resource for combating human trafficking

Thailand

Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW)

Address

Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW)
191/41 Sivalai Condominium
Soi 33,Itsaraphap Rd
Bangkok-yai
Bangkok, Thailand
10600

Contact Information

If calling from Thailand:

Tel: 02 864 1427
Fax: 02 864 1637

If calling from overseas:

Tel: +66 2 864 1427
Fax: +66 2 864 1637

Website

http://www.gaatw.org

Email

gaatw@gaatw.org

Activities

GAATW was formed as a result of the International Workshop on Migration and Traffic in Women in 1994 (Chiang Mai, Thailand). It has grown into a movement of members consisting of both organizations and individuals worldwide, and has coordinated, organized and facilitated work on issues related to trafficking in persons and women's labor migration in every region of the world.

GAATW is considered the pre-eminent transnational organization facilitating a global movement to fight against trafficking and related issues. It has created a wide-reach due to its large membership base. It facilitates advocacy across the world on a number of issues related to trafficking in women, trafficking - human rights - migration - gender and development.

2007 Activities:

In 2007, GAATW-IS will essentially have nine months of programme work before the International Members’ Congress (IMC) in early October. These nine months will consolidate the work carried in the last two years, and set the groundwork for the next three-year plan for 2008-2010. Programmatically GAATW-IS will deepen the engagement with the themes that were priorities in the 2005-2007 action plan: Advocacy, Access to Justice, Realizing Rights, as well as on Regional coordination, Communication and Administration.

Advocacy

The aim of 2007 is to strengthen the profile of GAATW at international and regional venues, for which important stepping-stones have been laid in the past years. Furthermore the team will:

Establish a long-term advocacy strategy in collaboration with a working group;
Research the trafficking/migration nexus;
Create and implement a plan for advocacy around the Multi Country Research Project (which will be presented at the IMC);
Monitor different regional and international bodies and treaties related to human trafficking;
Consider ways to work with GAATW members to lobby national governments on anti-trafficking policies.

Access to Justice

The programme aims at improving legal frameworks, policies, practices and venues for trafficked persons to access the justice system. In the year 2007 the team will grow, welcoming a new Programme Officer for research and communication. The team will be:

Launching the Access to Justice Website, which will support members and other interested persons and organisations in improving access to justice by providing a forum for simple, accessible and relevant information exchange;
Working on the publication of the July 2007 Alliance News issue focusing on compensation avenues for trafficked victims;
Coming up with monthly Access to Justice e-Bulletins;
Holding three National Consultations in Nigeria, Nepal and Thailand;
Carrying out a pilot research in Indonesia.

Realising Rights

The work will focus on the action research project that started in late 2006 with voluntary support from our sub-regional working group members. The research will consolidate GAATW’s engagement with self-organised groups and analyze the strengths and challenges in using self-organisation as a strategy for empowerment. It will also look at the complexities and politics around much used words such as participation and empowerment. The project implemented in conjunction with member groups offers constructive practical activities and outcomes, such as:

Facilitation of the socio economic empowerment and political participation of several GAATW member self-organised and community-based groups;
Linking up 18 of them within a mutually beneficial relationship;
The publication of a report on the results of the project by October 2007 that will be shared with interested groups.

Regional coordination

The regional coordination of activities among GAATW member organisations will pursue its strategies as developed during 2006. Strategies for regional coordination of members’ activities are being developed for Asia and for Africa. Activities include:

The coordination of information exchange on key topics;
The drafting and sharing of papers to improve knowledge on regional key topics;
The consolidation of the network by implementing pilot activities at regional level;
The preparation for regional panels at the IMC;
Translating key documents and reports to improve information dissemination and inclusion.