Four-Day Workshop On Irregular Movement Of Refugees Kicks Off In Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- A four-day Technical Experts Working Group Meeting on Irregular Movements co-hosted by Malaysia and Australia, which commenced here Monday, will be focusing on the irregular movements of people by air, land and sea. Malaysian Home Ministry's secretary-general Abdul Rahim Mohd Radzi said in a statement that the workshop, held under the Bali Process, was a good platform for the sharing of experience and best practices in visa issuance, passport control, immigration, as well as other border processes to deter irregular movements. This is the second Bali Process event hosted by Malaysia this year, the first being the Workshop on Protection for Victims of Trafficking in Persons held in Kuala Lumpur in January. The Bali Process is an international framework agreement that was initiated at the Regional Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime held in Bali, Indonesia in February 2002, for handling large influxes of asylum seekers and to combat human trafficking and related transnational crime in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia and Indonesia are the permanent co-chairs of the Bali Process which comprises 44 member countries and international organisations, namely the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Abdul Rahim said the workshop was being attended by participants from the Bali Process ad-hoc member countries that included Indonesia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia. He said irregular movements of refugees was one of the daunting challenges confronting countries globally and closely linked to transnational crime such as terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, people smuggling and arms smuggling. "Hence, credible and effective deterrence are crucial to addressing irregular movements so as to preserve states' sovereignty and stability as well as to protect their citizens' well-being," he said. -- BERNAMA