1st LD Writethru: Thailand hosts int'l meeting to address irregular migration in Indian Ocean

Thailand hosted the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean here on Friday, with the goal of finding urgent solutions for the irregular migrants currently stranded in the Indian Ocean and long-term solutions for the outflow of the irregular migration.

The one-day meeting concluded with a number of proposals and recommendations aimed to protect people stranded at sea, prevent irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, as well as address root causes and improve livelihood in at-risk communities.

The meeting was held against the backdrop that since early May, mass graves believed to contain bodies of deceased Rohingya migrants from Myanmar have been found in Thai-Malaysian border areas, and thousands of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have been found abandoned at sea after Thailand's crackdown on human trafficking.

High-level representatives from countries in the region, namely Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Thailand, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations resident coordinator for Thailand attended the meeting as participants.

In addition, representatives of Japan, Switzerland and the United States attended as observers. A number of ambassadors and charge d'affaires based in Bangkok also observed the meeting.

"The influx of irregular migrants in the Indian Ocean has reached an alarming level," Tanasak Patimapragorn, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in his opening remarks.

"The situation has affected various countries in the region. No country can solve this problem alone," Tanasak stressed.

He reiterated the urgency for all relevant countries in the region, be they countries of origin, transit or destination, stakeholders and the international community, to work together in handling the complex issue of irregular migration in the Indian Ocean in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.

The deputy premier also highlighted that while saving lives of those remaining at sea was placed at the utmost priority, the concerted efforts were also required to terminate the root causes and all contributing factors of the irregular migration and other related transnational crimes such as trafficking in persons.

For immediate response, the meeting proposed intensifying search and rescue operations to ensure safety of the irregular migrants at sea and ensuring that UNHCR and IOM have access to the migrants, the Thai foreign ministry said in a statement.

It also proposed, among others, paying particular attention to the protection of the vulnerable groups, including women, children and unaccompanied minors, who are often most affected.

For medium-term actions, the participants proposed strengthening national law enforcement to combat people smuggling and human trafficking, and cooperate in eradicating the transnational organized criminal syndicates, according to the statement.

They also recommended enhancing legal, affordable and safe channels of migration among relevant countries to promote opportunities and deter irregular migration activities.

Measures suggested in this regard included inking bilateral employment memoranda of understanding, setting up national mechanism responsible for overseas employment to encourage safe and legal migration for work, and increasing capacity of countries in the region to empower people to pursue migration in a legal and dignified manner.

Moreover, proposed actions to address root causes included, among others, capacity building of local communities, providing economic incentives that create more jobs, promoting trade and investment and development assistance to at-risk areas, and promoting full respect for human rights and adequate access of people to basic rights and services such as housing, education and healthcare, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the participants also agreed to pursue further discussions as well as to bring the matter to related frameworks including bilateral consultations, ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime to be hosted by Malaysia, and the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. Endi