Between 10 and 11 June 2010, the Co-Chairs of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime hosted the third Meeting of Ad Hoc Group Senior Officials in Bali, Indonesia.
In attendance were representatives from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, as well as representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The United Arab Emirates attended as an observer.
Key Themes
Participants acknowledged the importance of the Ad Hoc Group in identifying and discussing specific caseloads. Key areas of cooperation identified as means to address caseload issues and pipeline management were:
- immigration and border management responses
- management of irregular migrant populations
- legal and law enforcement responses.
Participants identified several common objectives which focused on the need to deter and sanction people smugglers and traffickers. To do so, they agreed to:
- take effective action to criminalize people smuggling and trafficking in persons
- enforce all relevant laws
- develop and implement appropriate penalties for people smugglers and traffickers.
Participants recognized that addressing irregular migration is a shared responsibility amongst source, transit, and destination countries and that consistent approaches are crucial in ensuring the individual efforts of all countries contributed to stemming irregular movements through pipelines in the region.
Participants acknowledged the importance of strengthening the collection and sharing of information and intelligence at the regional and national level to inform the actions of source, transit and destination countries. They also recognized the value of tailored and targeted information campaigns and dialogue between countries in the region and with international organisations, including efforts to address secondary movements.
Participants agreed that sustained and continued capacity development, particularly in source countries, provides greater opportunities to address some of the underlying factors which made individuals vulnerable to irregular migration.
Outcomes
- Participants endorsed the outcomes of the Workshop on Protection, Resettlement and Repatriation held on 7-8 June 2010 where the issue of protection was addressed for the first time under the Bali Process. Participants agreed to begin working on four initiatives related to the key areas for future work identified in the context of the workshop.
- Participants agreed to convene a meeting of the Technical Experts on Irregular Movement by Air in 2010 to discuss progress in the establishment of the RILON concept.
- Participants acknowledged the need for all countries to have strong immigration processes and agreed to convene a workshop in Australia to discuss ways to strengthen visa integrity.
- Australia offered to host a technical meeting to explore the possibility of developing a standard regional approach to the management of irregular maritime ventures in international and territorial waters in accordance with relevant international instruments.
- Thailand reiterated its offer to host an Expert Meeting on legal enforcement and mutual legal assistance.
- The Meeting agreed that participants should remain proactive in developing strategies to address irregular migration.
- The Co-Chairs called for a timely implementation of the action items, keeping in mind the upcoming Ad Hoc Group progress report due to be presented to Ministers before the fourth Bali Process Ministerial Conference to be held in 2010.
Bali Process Ad Hoc Group Workshops
Over the course of 2010, the Bali Process held a series of workshops aimed to assist Member States with progress on thematic areas including visa and passport integrity, repatriation and reintegration and regional cooperation on refugees and irregular migration.
The summaries of discussions and recommendations by Member States from each workshop can be found in the collection of documents on this page.
Third Ad Hoc Group NZ IOM Presentation on Information Campaign
On 23 March 2010, the Technical Experts Working group on Irregular Movement by Air convened to discuss the establishment, make-up, arrangements for the first Regional Immigration Liaison Network (RILON) team meeting.
Bali Process Ad Hoc Group Workshop on Passport Integrity – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 26-29 July 2010
From 26th to 28th July 2010, Bali Process Ad-hoc group members convened to discuss passport issuance practices and shared challenges faced by countries from the region on passport integrity. The workshop was aimed at officials with an operational responsibility for passport issuance and/or integrity.
Bali Process Ad Hoc Group UNHCR Regional Cooperation on Refugees and Irregular Movements Workshop – Manila, Philippines, 22-23 November 2010
From 22nd to 23rd November 2010, the Philippines and UNHCR co-hosted a workshop on Regional Cooperation on Refugees and Irregular Movements in Manila. Discussions focused on the region’s long tradition of receiving refugees and finding solutions for them, challenges faced in this regard and the need for a coordinated regional approach via practical measures including national/regional Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), institutionalized channels of dialogue among affected countries and sharing of good practices. Participants noted the value of complementing national responses with a non-binding Regional Cooperation Framework and discussed its functions.
Bali Process Ad Hoc Group IOM Technical Workshop on Repatriation and Reintegration – Manila, Philippines, 23-24 November 2010
From 23rd to 24th November 2010, the Philippines and IOM co-hosted a Technical Workshop on Repatriation and Reintegration in Manila. Discussions focused on means of prevention, methods and challenges associated with facilitated returns, enforced deportation mechanisms, Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes. Participants agreed to harmonize approaches in the region on prevention of secondary movements and the consistent application of international instruments. It was acknowledged that a regional cooperation framework would streamline efforts.
Bali Process Ad Hoc Group Visa Integrity Workshop – Maldives, 7-9 December 2010
From 7th to 9th December 2010, the Republic of Maldives and Australia co-hosted the Bali Process Ad Hoc Group Visa Integrity Workshop in the Republic of Maldives. The objectives of the workshop included discussing the importance of overall visa integrity, exchanging information and ideas on visa issuing processes in the region, developing a regional understanding on prevention and detection tools for irregular migration movements at the border and exploring the potential for regional information sharing on visa integrity. Participants continued discussions in two break-out groups each focused on answering the following questions: Group A. How could you improve your visa issuing programs to ensure only genuine travellers are facilitated? and Group B. What are the challenges we face in achieving balance between facilitation and border control?
