voluntary reporting system on migrant smuggling and related conduct in support of the bali process...
TRANSCRIPT
Voluntary Reporting System on Migrant Smuggling and Related Conduct in Support of the Bali Process
(VRS-MSRC)
Geneva, 22 April 2013
Sebastian BaumeisterCoordination and Analysis Unit (CAU), UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific
At the 4th Bali Process Ministerial Conference in March 2011:
“Ministers agreed to strengthen engagement on information and intelligence sharing, underscoring the high value and utility that would derive from enhanced information sharing. In this regard, Ministers welcomed assistance from UNODC in establishing a voluntary reporting system on migrant smuggling and related conduct in support of the Bali Process.”
In support of the Bali Process
At the 5th Bali Process Ministerial Conference in April 2013:
“Ministers encouraged members to participate in the Voluntary Reporting System on Migrant Smuggling and Related Conduct developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to strengthen its value as an information database to enhance and better inform policy development in response to migrant smuggling.”
In support of the Bali Process
To collect and share (non-nominal) information on irregular migration and migrant smuggling
To build strategic, evidence-based knowledge
Purpose
To inform policies and operational measures
To build trust and strengthen cooperation between states
Purpose
Allowing States to exchange up-to-date information
Providing a national platform to bring together data from various national agencies
A secure, internet based, data sharing tool for State authorities
The VRS-MSRC serves to collect data on migrant smuggling and irregular migration within, through, from, and to the Bali Process region.
What are the flows of irregular migration and migrant smuggling, which are covered by the VRS-MSRC in
support of the Bali Process?
Illegal entries Total By citizenship By ‘countries of last
exit’ By entry point By gender / age By land/sea/air and
‘countries of last exit’
Refused entries Total By citizenship
Illegal residences Total By gender / age By citizenship
Illegal exits Total By gender / age By
exit points By land/sea/air and ‘countries of next destination’ By citizenship
Fraudulent documents
Total By “issuing countries” By entry or exit points Total persons using
fraudulent documents By citizenship
Routes By countries
Methods and fees By “from country to
country”
Smuggled migrants
Total By citizenship By entry or exit points By land/sea/air and
‘countries of last exit’
Suspects of migrant smuggling
Total (number of suspects)
By citizenship By gender
Convicted migrant smugglers
By gender By citizenship
Interaction between migrant smugglers
Migrant smugglers' involvement into other crime areas
Clients of migrant smugglers
Note: Only those data where the responding country indicates ‘yes’ in the Screener will be visible online
Collecting and sharing data
Conducting analysis and building strategic intelligence
routes, methods used, fees paid
Conducting analysis and building strategic intelligence
Who is entering and staying in an irregular way?
Conducting analysis and building strategic intelligence
Who are the criminals facilitating irregular entry and stay?
Based upon the principle of mutual information sharing
• More than 70 law enforcement officers from 23 countries & IOs
• Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Thailand, UK, USA, Viet Nam, Europol, Frontex, INTERPOL, and the Pacific Immigration Directors’ Conference (PIDC).
Development of the VRS-MSRC
12 countries from Asia, the Pacific, Europe and North America participated:
Australia, Cambodia, France, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Maldives, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tonga, UK, and the USA as well as the Pacific Immigration Directors’ Conference (PIDC).
Validation Workshop in BKK, in Nov.2012
Pilot phase in Oct. and Nov. 2012
Participants unanimously underscored the high utility of the VRS-MSRC: effective tool for sharing information a) among
States, and b) among relevant agencies at the national level
Participants identified a number of ways to further improve the user-friendliness and the functionality of the system
Pilot phase results
Launch in mid 2013
1st reporting cycle covers two reporting periods: 2012 Jan. to June 2013
Familiarization workshop
VRS-MSRC in 2013
Extension to other regions?
One global tool to collect and share data?
The future of the VRS-MSRC?
The VRS-MSRC is a tool for States to share data and build knowledge on
irregular migration and migrant smuggling.
The more States contribute, the better the information.
Competition among agencies at national level
Lack of coordination and cooperation at national level
Different understanding of terms
Not all states collect the same data
Mistrust
Lack of international cooperation
Irregular migration is a sensitive topic
Lack of political will
Translating political will into action
Workload
Main challenges in sharing of strategic data?
Thank you!
UNODC VRS-MSRC TEAM United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the PacificUN Secretariat Building,
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200www.unodc.org/eastasiaandpacific/
Email: [email protected]