PHUKET, THAILAND, 1-3 September 2017 – NEXUS Senior Researcher Rebecca Surtees served as an Observer to the Practitioners’ Workshop for Regional Multi-Sectoral Guidelines and Procedures to Address the Needs of TIP Victims in accordance with the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP), which was organized by the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) jointly with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Mission to ASEAN (US-ASEAN).

The Phuket Practitioners’ Workshop built on the process that began in April 2017, to draft regional guidelines to help ASEAN Member States better implement the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP). The first meeting of the ACWC’s Advisory Group and National TIP Specialists appointed by the ACWC was conducted in Bangkok from May 14-16, 2017. During that meeting, a draft outline for the guidelines and procedures was shared for comment and further refinement. The overall objective of the Phuket Practitioners’ Workshop was to convene National TIP Specialists and Practitioners to review and refine these draft guidelines and procedures.