UN agency chief urges protection of refugees while fighting smugglers

The head of the United Nations refugee agency today urged Member States of the so-called Bali Process on people-smuggling in the Asia-Pacific region to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers are protected.

“Smugglers and traffickers often prey on people who are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres told the Third Ministerial Conference of the Process.

“Tough action against criminal agents has to go hand in hand with the protection of those in need of it,” he added.

The Bali Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime was first held in February 2002, following large numbers of illegal boat arrivals.

Thirty-eight countries from the Asia-Pacific region, including countries of origin, destination and transit, participate in the Process, which is voluntary and non-binding.

At the first conference as well as the second, held in April 2003, both co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia, ministers agreed on a program of practical cooperation to combat people smuggling and trafficking.

In his address to today’s meeting, Mr. Guterres highlighted the complexity of migration in the region, noting that some movements are economically motivated while others are triggered by conflict or dire human rights threats.

As refugees and asylum-seekers move, they frequently find themselves travelling on the same routes – and in the same rickety boats – as economic migrants, he explained.

Mr. Guterres said he recognized that States have a legitimate right to define their own migration policies and protect their borders, but he emphasized that the human dimension also needs to be addressed.

A comprehensive, regional approach to the problem of mixed migration would have to address root causes and improve living standards and rights at the point of origin, he said.

It would also require international solidarity to provide solutions in a spirit of burden sharing and it should explore, whenever conditions permit, the possibility of voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity, he said.

Mr. Guterres strongly welcomed a proposal that the Bali Process equip itself with a mechanism to develop regional principles for access to territory, protection and basic services, voluntary repatriation, and legal migration opportunities.

“With its diverse membership – which includes countries of origin, transit and destination, and represents a wide geographical region – it offers the potential to reach a common understanding of irregular movements and to forge mechanisms for regional cooperation,” he said.