UNHCR calls for concrete steps to protect refugees through Bali Process
The steps include the development of protocols on rescue and interception at sea to support more predictable and effective ways to disembark, process and help maritime arrivals.
![](/thumb1/515ae0216.jpg)
This rickety boat barely carried 63 presumed Rohingya to safety. They were rescued by Indonesian fishermen and disembarked in Aceh in late February. © UNHCR/A.Sofinar
BALI, Indonesia, April 2 (UNHCR) - UNHCR's top protection official on Tuesday welcomed a pledge by government ministers in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen cooperation to manage irregular maritime movements in a protection-sensitive regional approach.
The pledge came in a statement issued at the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. Ministers and other high-level officials from more than 40 countries in the region participated in the event on Tuesday together with representatives of the UN refugee agency, the International Organization for Migration and other groups.
Addressing the event, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller noted the progress made on several fronts within the Bali Process, including the creation of the Regional Cooperation Framework and the Regional Support Office to build state capacity to respond to asylum challenges in the region. She cautioned, however, that much more remains to be done "to move beyond the language of cooperation to practical and concrete action."
She acknowledged that issues such as irregular maritime movements bring complex challenges. On the one hand, growing numbers of people are taking to the seas, risking their lives and facing exploitation in the process. On the other hand, receiving countries feel they are left to shoulder the responsibility alone.
Summing up lessons from a recent regional roundtable on irregular movements by sea, co-organized by Indonesia and UNHCR, Feller noted that unilateral action by individual countries does not work. "Refusal to assist persons in distress at sea, regardless of who they are and how they came to be there, can lead to terrible consequences which represent a collective humanitarian failure," she emphasized.
Among the concrete steps proposed, the Assistant High Commissioner called for the development of protocols on rescue and interception at sea to support more predictable and effective ways to disembark, process and seek solutions for maritime arrivals. She recommended that resources be pre-positioned and joint support services provided, such as mobile response teams that could be deployed upon the request of states.
Above all, Feller encouraged states to support these practical actions at the highest political levels. "To be effective and sustainable, a comprehensive approach must accommodate both the state security as well as the human security dimensions of the problem," she said. "The momentum towards including asylum and refugee protection objectives as an integral part of the Bali Process agenda must not be lost."
Related news and stories
UNHCR seeks comprehensive regional response to address rise in deadly South-East Asia sea journeys
Seven-month ordeal at sea takes toll on Rohingya refugees in Indonesia
UNHCR welcomes the life-saving disembarkation of 300 Rohingya refugees in Indonesia
Refugees get a chance to start over in style in Jakarta
Jakarta, A Fashion Thread
Tents bring Indonesia quake survivors out of the rain
Your search for « Bali process » matched 350 results. Displaying page 7 of 39 pages.
-
Summary Record of the 650th meeting held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Tuesday, 4 October 2011, at 10 a.m.
16 Jan 2012 ... ... the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire, and would pursue its work with the organization in the framework of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2013 Update - South-East Asia subregional overview
1 Dec 2012 ... ... This situation highlights the need for a regional approach to refugee protection and international migration issues in the South-East Asia subregion. UNHCR is participating in the Bali Process on ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2014-2015 - Asia and the Pacific regional summary
1 Dec 2013 ... ... UNHCR will continue to press for regional cooperation to cope with situations that exceed the capacities of individual countries, using established forums such as ASEAN and the Bali Process on People ...... -
Strategic overviews: Asia and the Pacific
6 Mar 2012 ... ... In South-East Asia the operationalization of the Regional Cooperation Framework under the auspices of the Bali Process has gathered further momentum and it is anticipated that a Regional Support ...... -
Overview of UNHCR's operations in Asia and the Pacific
19 Sep 2016 ... ... In South-East Asia, UNHCR continued to work with States to address concerns related to mixed movements by sea and to help address the root causes of such movements. The Bali Process on People ...... -
Concept Note
14 Nov 2013 ... The League of Arab States and the Bali Process were expressly mentioned. The drafting of a Protocol to one of the existing treaties, on the other hand, was regarded as premature’. 5 The model ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2015 Update - Asia and the Pacific summary
1 Dec 2014 ... ... arrangements and burden sharing, using regional migration processes such as the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. | STRATEGY | • ...... -
Reflections on the significance of the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants for the Asia Pacific region
5 Jul 2017 ... ... on Addressing 12 Irregular Movement of Persons in 2013, and the endorsement of the Bali Process Declaration on 13 People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime in ...... -
Statement of Myanmar to the first formal consultation, agenda item two
14 Feb 2018 ... In this context and as we have briefly discuss, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-ASEAN and the the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime- ......