Asia-Pacific region to spur antipeople smuggling
Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
Ministers from the Asia Pacific region wound up their two-day conference on combating people smuggling on Wednesday with a pledge to forge closer cooperation among member countries and international organizations, and to draft legal frameworks dealing with these issues.
They also appealed for more economic aid for source countries to reduce illegal migration pressures and adequate consideration for improved opportunities for legal migration, "including access to the international labor market".
Speaking at the end of a two-day seminar, which was jointly organized by Indonesia and Australia, foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said that while much work remained, "we have taken one big, important step toward the eradication of the problem of people-smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crimes in our region."
"We are seeing the progress of the Bali Process. Indeed we agreed not only to continue to work on illegal migrants but also to maintain the political momentum regarding the regional cooperation on people smuggling," said Hassan, co-chairman of the conference.
"The Bali Process does not legislate. The Process does not force anybody to do anything. But it provides frameworks of cooperation, context and priority in dealing with people smuggling and other transnational crimes," said Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, co-chairman of the meeting.
Some 28 ministers from 32 countries, representatives from 14 observer nations and officials from 15 international agencies met in Denpasar, Bali, following up the first such meeting in February last year.
The ministers agreed to reconvene for the third ministerial conference within two or three years to review the progress of what they call the Bali Process. Senior official meetings will also be organized every year to ensure that the Bali Process works well. Participating countries had initially agreed to stop at the second conference.
The Bali Process has provided adequate knowledge to participating countries on how to manage illegal migrants and people smuggling. It also provides technical cooperation in enhancing their capacity building in terms of legal infrastructure and other kinds of assistance.
The first ministerial conference focused on the challenges confronting states in their efforts to combat transnational crimes, in particular people smuggling and trafficking, while the second provided an opportunity to reflect on follow-up to date and focus attention on the issues still to be tackled.
Within one year, there has been remarkable progress in dealing with people smuggling, trafficking in people and other related transnational crimes among participating countries.
Hassan said Indonesia had gained direct benefits from the conference. In l999, the country hosted 3,832 illegal migrants mostly from Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq.
After the first Bali conference, Indonesia signed an agreement with the Afghan government on how to deal with these migrants.
"With the help of the Afghan government, IOM and UNHCR, around 605 Afghans have returned home voluntarily," Hassan said, referring to the International Organization of Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Currently, the number of illegal migrants in Indonesia is only around 450 people.
Asian countries, and especially Indonesia, were for years a transit point for gangs smuggling asylum-seekers -- mainly Afghans and Iraqis -- into Australia by boat.
"I hope that with the situation in Iraq is getting better so illegal migrants from that country could also return home," Hassan said.
The co-chairs' statement urged the international community to assist source countries to address the root causes of the illegal movement of people by providing emergency aid, development assistance, direct support programs for displaced persons and to address the plight of refugees.