It is an honor to take part in this International Conference on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean. Today’s meeting is a much-awaited follow-up to the initial conference on the same issue on 29 May, which I also had the honor of attending.  I would like to reiterate my deep appreciation to the Royal Thai Government for convening this important conference once again and for your legendary Thai hospitality.

This is a very timely conference in at least two ways: First, because the resumption of irregular maritime movement in the Asia-Pacific region remains a real likelihood at the end of the monsoon season. After all the push and pull factors and root causes remain; these have not changed, they are not seasonal. Hence, it is very important for all of us to be well-prepared for this scenario based on the lessons learned since we met here in May – in particular, the primordial commitment to save life. Also, to provide humane reception.

Second, the regional issues faced here are linked to larger global trends of human mobility – trends that require a comprehensive, long-term, holistic migration policy. Our action should be based on the recognition of several fundamental realities, namely, that migration is:

• Inevitable, owing to demography and other realities; including unprecedented conflicts and simultaneous, complex humanitarian emergencies; abject poverty, socio-economic disparities; climate change and labour demand;
• Necessary, if skills are to be available, jobs filled, and nations to flourish; and
• Desirable, if well-managed through sensible, humane and responsible policies.

I would like to highlight three points:

1. Global context of human mobility
2. The Asia-Pacific regional response to irregular migration
3. Way forward

I. Global Context of Human Mobility

Let me first highlight key challenges and opportunities that global human mobility poses today. A unique period of unprecedented human mobility; forced migration; simultaneous complex conflicts; humanitarian emergencies from West Africa to the Himalayas; political malaise with little prospect of any short to medium term solutions to any of them. Until political solutions are found, more and more persons will be forced to migrate.

This year marks the historic convergence of key global policy frameworks, including the

a) Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction;
b) the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, that gives us all a development roadmap for the next 15 years; and
c) climate-change negotiations (COP 21) in Paris;
d) the World Humanitarian Summit in May;
e) Habitat III in October; and
f) the UN Secretary General just announced a meeting in September on a Global Compact on Migration.

All of these have significant dimensions of human mobility. The SDGs, inter alia, include a target under goal 10, to “facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.”

Such historic momentum for cooperation on migration governance will not be reversed by a series of unprecedented, simultaneous conflicts and humanitarian emergencies; security concerns, or shortsighted responses to the ongoing multiple migration crises fueled by xenophobia. On November 11, at the AU-EU Valletta Summit, I stressed the importance of a comprehensive approach to the governance of human mobility between Africa and Europe. First and foremost, we should place life-saving and the rights of migrants at the center of policy concerns and fully mobilize multi-stakeholder partnerships, evidence-based policy, and measures to address the root causes of irregular migration.

II. The Asia Pacific Regional Response to Irregular Migration

It is commendable that Asian countries affected by irregular migration have responded with humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable migrants stranded and rescued at the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea through joint efforts with partner organizations such as IOM and UNHCR. We at IOM and our partners are all committed to helping you manage the situation in a humane, responsible and dignified manner.

At the last conference in May, we agreed on the following three-pronged approach:

1. Protecting people stranded at sea, including by establishing a “joint task force to administer and ensure necessary support”. To my knowledge this has not been done and should assume new urgency.
2. Preventing irregular migration and the smuggling and trafficking of persons; through opening new legal channels of migration and a more flexible application of visa policy (seasonal working visas; humanitarian entry; temporary protective status; short-term visas; temporary relocation); and
3. Addressing the root causes that drive mixed maritime movements.

This conference was followed by an Emergency ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime concerning Irregular Movement of Persons in Southeast Asia in July, which my Regional Director attended on my behalf. This meeting decided: (a) to establish a trust fund to support the humanitarian and relief efforts, and (b) to set up a task force to respond to crises and emergency situations arising from irregular movement of persons in Southeast Asia.

IOM has been supporting the implementation of these recommendations through a combination of (a) direct assistance to migrants; and, (b) cooperation with the affected countries through a range of traditional IOM support services including: AVRR; capacity building on migration management; counter-trafficking measures; humanitarian border management; policy advice on development of a comprehensive migration framework; labour migration programmes; information campaigns, and so on.

On the humanitarian front, the number of persons who departed from Myanmar and Bangladesh and managed to disembark in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand between 10 May and 30 July are about 5,500. A total of 1,754 stranded Myanmar nationals from Rakhine State and Bangladeshis remain in shelters and Immigration Detention Centers in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar.

IOM continues to provide temporary shelter and non-food items, health and nutrition, psychosocial, return assistance and migration management support and coordination assistance in the affected countries. 2,266 Bangladeshis who disembarked after May 10 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand returned to Bangladesh under IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) Programme and Government agreements.

II. Way Forward

In order to make our joint efforts more effective, I would like to make the following suggestions for your consideration and discussion:

A. Access to vulnerable populations:

Following the initial May meeting, the international community decided to support the affected countries of the region by allocating funds for humanitarian assistance for persons stranded on boats. Our joint efforts will continue to count on full access to the vulnerable population who disembarked. We will further discuss practical modalities for further improvement wherever possible and appropriate.

B. Joint Task Force:

At our meeting in May, the Governments unanimously agreed to establish a mechanism or joint task force to administer and ensure the necessary support to persons stranded at sea. We would want to recommend that the task force be a formalized entity, with clear channels of communication and operating procedures, and be prepared to coordinate a collective response of the affected countries: from preparedness, info gathering and analysis, rescue, and disembarkation to longer term solutions. We believe that this task force would benefit from the participation of partner organizations such as IOM and UNHCR. Among others, we are ready to promote evidence-based policy on irregular migration through strengthening information and intelligence-sharing mechanisms. Our new Global Migration Data Analysis Centre in Berlin, which officially opened on 1 July, gives us increased ability to support this joint task force or IWG.

C. Importance of addressing root causes:

At our May conference, we agreed to address root causes in the areas of origin including, among others, capacity building of local communities, providing economic incentives that create more jobs, while also enhancing a sense of security and belonging, and so on. In other words, we should make concerted efforts to reduce drivers of “desperate migration” in which, due to lack of opportunities, or a sense of hopelessness, vulnerable individuals turn to smugglers and traffickers.  Local and national efforts to promote economic and social development, the creation of environment conducive for migration with dignity, should be supported by the creation of more regular avenues for labour migration and family reunification. We need regional solidarity in working together to address the root causes, which brings me to my last point on the importance of regional approach.

D. Regional approach:

No country can handle human mobility alone. By definition, there is a need for close cooperation among the countries of origin, destination and transit affected by human mobility. In the Asia Pacific, challenges are compounded by the length of sea borders, different stages of economic development among the regional countries, and still relatively limited regional or sub-regional policy coordination mechanisms in general.

E. Labor Mobility

As I said as co-Chair of the WEF Regional Meeting in Jakarta in April, the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community will require a proper labour mobility policy if the new Community is to achieve its full potential.

F. The Importance of Perspective

Finally, it is important to recognize and accept certain migration realities and to maintain perspective. The number of irregular migrants in Southeast Asia is easily within your capacity to manage. At our 29 May meeting, for example, the discussion centred around some 8,000 irregular migrants stranded on smugglers’ boats off your shores. This is contrast to the total population of your five affected countries of 550 million people.

Conclusion

Against this background, we are witnessing the encouraging regional developments in support of cooperation on migration issues, such as the establishment of a) ASEAN economic community, b) the Kathmandu declaration within SAARC that includes commitment to cooperation on labour migration, together with the continuous development of regional and inter-regional consultative processes such as the Bali Process, the Colombo Process and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue. In this context, it is vey timely that Bangladesh will assume the next chair of GFMD in 2016, which, I am sure, will bring additional momentum for regional cooperation on migration governance. 

In this context, the irregular migration challenges we face in this region also provide golden opportunities to develop a comprehensive regional response – one that facilitates orderly, humane, and safe migration through regular channels. IOM is ready to support your regional efforts in any way we can. Let me leave you with this thought: migration is not a problem to be solved; migration is a human reality to be managed. Three requirements are, thus, needed: perspective, policy, and plan of action.