On 16 May 2018, the Bali Process Trafficking in Persons Working Group met for the fourth time, in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was co-chaired by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Department of Home Affairs, with participants from 19 Bali Process member countries and organisations.
Members discussed the Trafficking in Persons Working Group Forward Work Plan 2017-19 and acknowledged important progress against key action items. In particular, members noted the completion of the Bali Process Follow the Money Guide and its associated training module. The guide and module were endorsed at the 12th Ad Hoc Senior Officials Meeting and would be published ahead of the Bali Process Ministerial Conference in August 2018. Training on the new guide had been delivered in Sri Lanka and Lao PDR, and would be delivered in Indonesia in July 2018. Members also acknowledged efforts to expand the promotion and use of the Bali process Policy Guides on Criminalizing Migrant Smuggling and trafficking in Persons, and on Identifying and Protecting Victims of Trafficking, with training being provided to a number of Bali Process member countries over the past twelve-month period.
A key outcome recognised by members was the delivery of the Bali Process Roundtable on Government and Civil Society Collaboration, which delivered against a key objective of the TIPWG to strengthen government and civil society collaboration, and that responded to an outcome of the 6th Ministerial Conference.
Government and Civil Society Roundtable
Indonesia’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Australia’s Department of Home Affairs co-chaired the Bali Process Government and Civil Society Roundtable in Bangkok, Thailand from 14-15 May 2018. The Roundtable was delivered in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross, and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Roundtable focused on government and civil society organisations working together to address human trafficking and serious forms of labour exploitation.
The Roundtable delivered on commitments from the Sixth Regional Bali Process Ministerial Conference, held in Bali, in March 2016. At that meeting, Ministers agreed a Declaration that acknowledged the role of civil society organisations in addressing the challenges caused by human trafficking and irregular migration and encouraged members to engage with them accordingly. Ministers also underscored the importance of addressing humanitarian and protection needs in managing irregular migration, and directed that members give priority to implementing the best practice principles in the Bali Process Policy Guides on Identifying and Protecting Victims of Trafficking.
The Roundtable also contributed to a joint commitment made by States party to the Geneva Conventions and Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to address local humanitarian issues, as well as resolutions adopted by consensus to address global challenges. By building government and civil society organisation collaboration, the Roundtable also contributed to objectives of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
