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 8 of 39 pages.
-
Indonesia
12 Oct 2022 ... the 2019 Global Refugee Forum. 16. Indonesia is also working through regional mechanisms. 17. Bali Process, for example, provides a forum for countries of origin, transit and destination and partners ...... -
Jakarta workshop seeks to strengthen protection at sea in Asia-Pacific
23 Apr 2014 ... ... In making a call for collective action, UNHCR's Lynch referred to the Bali Process Regional Cooperation Framework as a blueprint. "We are working hard towards a comprehensive regional response that ...... -
Statement of Australia
8 Oct 2019 ... As part of our broader efforts to address statelessness, Australia was proud to support, through the Regional Support Office of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, - 2 - Trafficking in Persons and ...... -
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons Learned from UNHCR's 10-Point Plan project
30 Jan 2012 ... ... (and have inspired new) regional and national processes on issues relating to mixed movement. ... 16 UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Fourth Bali Regional Ministerial Conference: Statement by ...... -
Statement by Volker Türk, Director of International Protection to the Special Conference on Irregular Movement of Persons Jakarta, Indonesia.
20 Aug 2013 ... This includes appropriate frameworks for refugees and asylum-seekers. By way of response, some significant steps have been taken within ASEAN, as well as the Bali Process framework, notably through ...... -
Action Plan 2015 - Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea
29 May 2015 ... They build upon the Regional Cooperation Framework at the heart of the Bali Process, the already substantial efforts of national and international actors in the region and the fundamental objectives ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2016 - Asia and the Pacific regional summary
Jun 2017 ... ... As part of the Bali Process, Asian leaders from 41 countries adopted the “Bali Declaration on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime” in March 2016. The ...... -
71st meeting of the Standing Committee - Regional update - Asia and the Pacific
7 Mar 2018 ... ... In South-East Asia, UNHCR continues to engage extensively with the Bali Process at the regional level. Building on its 2016 Ministerial Declaration, the Bali Process established a Task Force on ...... -
Update on UNHCR's operations in Asia and the Pacific: Executive Committee 2005
20 Sep 2005 ... The meeting provided an opportunity to build awareness on the joint NGO/UNHCR advocacy approach and discuss its contents with a broader audience. UNHCR remains engaged in the overall process of Bali ......