In these days, the increase of illegal migration and people smuggling and trafficking is a major concern of the immigration authorities in many countries, and in the UNGA the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its related protocols were adopted just two weeks ago. In this context, discussion was made as to how this problem could be effectively coped with.

Dr. Yoriko MEGURO (rapporteur) made some clarifications on this subject. She said, "Economic opportunities are often the major pull factor of the country to which people move, while the force to push people to out-migrate is composed of varied factors. Poverty is often considered the major factor of out-migration." Considering the illegal nature of migration, she said, "The perpetrators of the organized crime in the act of illegal migration must be target of crime control....The issue of the trafficking in persons contains a crucial aspect that differentiates it from the issue of smuggling of persons. It is reasonable to assume that those individuals who are smuggled have the intention of migrating into the country of destination for personal gains; those individuals who are trafficked are, by definition, not aware of and not the recipients of the benefits from the outcome intended by the traffickers for their gains. Therefore, the victims of trafficking, especially women and children, are the true victims of the 'illegal' migration."

She focused on the issue of trafficking in persons. She referred to the statements and recommendations in "The Beijing Platform for action," the outcome document of the 4th World conference on Women, and in "Women 2000," the outcome document of the 23rd Special Session of General Assembly. She touched upon the situation in Japan and said,"The number of those caught by the police as victims of trafficking in persons may not seem so great, but it is believed that Japan is one of the major receiving countries." While appreciating the enactment of Law on the Prohibition of Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 1999, as a step ahead, she said, "Japan is in the position to take further initiative for the prevention of and coping with the problem of trafficking in women and children, both domestically and internationally."

She presented some of her suggestions on preventive measures, such as raising awareness, research, stronger measures to punish perpetrators and more information on the image of Japan; and coping measures such as rehabilitation for physical, psychological and social recovery of victims and empowerment of victims. In conclusion she said, "All efforts in the country of origin, transit and destination must be linked and a strong partnership between governments and civil society is essential in order to prevent and cope with the problem of trafficking in women and children."

Pol. Maj. Gen. Sothorn VANITSTHIAN (commentator) said, "Thailand has freely opened the country in accordance with the government policy of free economic system and tourist policy, known as 'Amazing Thailand'.

" He added, "As a result, we are confronted with the problems of national and transnational security and human trafficking." He explained the situation of human trafficking from Thailand to other countries or from one country to Thailand and then to a third country, done by a group of people through counterfeiting the documents. He also pointed out the ways to solve problems.

He said "The Immigration Bureau must take action in compliance with the Thai Immigration Act." He further explained the provisions stipulating the categories of aliens to be excluded from entering into Thailand. This includes those believed to be entering into Thailand for the purpose of being involved in prostitution, the trading of women and children, drug smuggling, or other types of smuggling, and other relevant provisions.

In this regard, he explained statistics and mentioned information sources. He also referred to the activities with liaison officers of foreign embassies in Bangkok such as the "ICE TEAM", and also the center for intelligent information set up in the Immigration Bureau.

Ms. Lola K. PAROCUA (commentator), referring to the presentation made by Dr. Meguro, including proposals to take legislative actions and stronger measures to punish the perpetrators, she cited verbatim from the "Trafficking Victims protection Act of 2000" which was passed into law by the U. S. Congress on Oct. 28, 2000, in response to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The problem of refugees is another issue of international concern. The basic concept of refugee recognition is founded on the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. Protection of refugees is important as part of our duty in the international community but there are problems such as abuse of the refugee recognition system and harmonization of standard among countries concerned. Consideration was made how we could effectively manage the refugee recognition system and solve the problem.

Ms. Irene KHAN (rapporteur) focused on the nexus between migration and asylum. She first explained the principles of refugee protection.She said, "Refugees are persons who fled their country or cannot return to it safely because of fear of persecution, violence and war. Their motives of departure are fundamentally different from economic migrants who are moving, not to save their lives but to improve their livelihoods. Refugees need sanctuary and international protection," and mentioned the principle of non-refoulement. She said, "Refugee protection is an exception to sovereign right of States to control who enters their territory, for how long and under what conditions." She continued to say, "The challenge is to manage refugee and migratory movements in a way that meets the needs of refugees while also addressing the legitimate concerns of States to combat illegal migration" and referred to regional processes for cooperation and consultations in this regard.

She explained the current trends and concerns , saying , "People smuggling and trafficking have complicated the issue further, as more and more refugees and asylum seekers use the same channels as illegal economic migrants in order to reach an asylum country....Resorting to immigration control without any effort to balance them with adequate means to identify those in need of international protection may result in the refoulement of refugees to danger....Recently, bilateral arrangements for intercepting and arresting asylum seekers in a transit country have given to particular protection concerns." She further said," Developing appropriate systems for refugee protection in the Asia Pacific countries would be a major step towards addressing some of these problems....National laws and procedures, based on international instruments, would allow Governments to identify those in need of international protection from those who are not." She stressed the need of a more multifaceted and comprehensive approach which must be based on regional cooperation and solidarity, including effective protection to refugees, appropriate migration policies and measures, and address to the causes of displacement.

At the end, she mentioned a major initiative to revitalize the refugee protection regime, a process of open dialogue - or Global Consultations - with governments, refugee experts and NGOs, launched by UNHCR. She explained, "The purpose of the Consultations is three-fold: firstly, to reaffirm the Convention as the foundation of refugee protection; secondly, to clarify the interpretation of specific aspects of the Convention, and thirdly, to develop new tools, approaches and standards to address areas not covered by the Convention." She said, "To all those in the Asia Pacific region who feel that the current refugee regime does not adequately address contemporary needs, the Global Consultations give an opportunity to help design more responsive approaches," and expressed the hope that the countries in the Asia Pacific region will play an active role in the Consultations.

Mr. Oreste Anthony BIZIAK (commentator) resonated with the remarks made by the rapporteur, saying, "The problem is not diminishing but increasing...We are required to face the more complex challenges than those faced when UNHCR was formed and drafting of Refugee Convention took place." He said, "We can only support the views of Ms. KHAN on a more multi-faceted and comprehensive approach."

He said, "The Australian Government is in total support of the proposed UNHCR Global Consultations." and stressed, "These consultations will need to address the funding arrangements for UNHCR, the failure to provide durable solutions leading to secondary movements, often involving people smugglers. He said, "A high priority must be the formulation and implementation of prevention strategies aimed at minimizing the need for outflows from countries of origin and first asylum....The consultations will need to address the need for the speedy return of rejected asylum seekers to their country of nationality to ensure the integrity of the international protection framework....As a result of the Global Consultations, we would hope that it is recognized that resources need to be devoted to early warning and emergency preparedness."

He further expressed some concern at the rapporteur's statement, on such points as the relationship between sovereign right of state and refugee recognition, saying, "The decision must rest with the State concerned." And stressed the legitimate concerns to combat people smuggling and trafficking and its associated criminal activities. He also clarified the arrangements between Australia and Indonesia, saying, "This should not be regarded as interception of asylum seekers but the interception of people smugglers and their victims."

Dr. Yozo YOKOTA (commentator) said that he would make comments from the viewpoint of a human rights expert, since he has worked in the the field of human rights with the UN and is actually a member of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

He pointed out his comments as follows:

(i)It is not easy to distinguish economic refugees from political refugees, from the human rights perspective, because both are obliged to move to survive, and in many cases political refugees also move with economic motivation, including extreme poverty.

(ii)The distinction between "illegal migrants" and "legal migrants" cannot be so decisive, because it depends on technical or procedural regulations.

(iii)The definition of "refugee" by the 1951 Convention is already outdated and is not strictly observed, because UN resolution recognizes "internally displaced persons", who are not covered by the Convention, as people to be protected by UNHCR.

(iv)Taking into account the above, the process of Global Consultations based solely on the 1951 Convention is not sufficient. Refugee protection regime founded by the 1951 Convention and the system supported by UNHCR do not any more fit to the present-day reality, and more fundamental reform of the protection system is required.

In today's world characterized by the globalization, the free and smooth movement of people is of great importance on a world wide scale, and it is more than ever required to ensure an orderly international movement of people through international cooperation, and discussion and consultation are taking place in such fora as WTO and APEC. Discussion was made from a broad viewpoint on this subject.

Mr. Yukio TAKASU (rapporteur) discussed the type of movement which is desirable and should be encouraged, namely travellers and skilled laborers, and said, "The need to strike a balance between facilitating the international movement of business travellers and upholding immigration regulations has become an important subject among trade negotiators." He provided some examples of recent development in international cooperation to facilitate such travel, i.e. OECD and WTO at the global level, APEC at the regional level and other bilateral cooperation. He said, "The issue of accepting the legal entry of non-skilled migrant workers is addressed by each country according to its domestic economic requirement and social acceptance of such foreign workers." In this context, he mentioned the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), saying, "It is actively involved in labor migration issues in the Asia and Pacific region, and it assists the work of Inter-Governmental Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants (APC)."

He said, "The integration of migrant workers in the society of receiving countries is important....The human rights of migrant workers must be protected based on the spirit of International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Our goal should be to construct a society where people from different cultural and ethnic background can respect each other and coexist peacefully."

Regarding refugee protection, he mentioned the UNHCR Global Consultations on International Protection, and said, "We welcome this initiative and intend to actively participate in the consultations."

He said, "Migrant workers sometimes cross borders clandestinely and illegally to seek better economic opportunities, often depending upon international smuggling rings." He mentioned the ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum) Experts' Group Meeting on Transnational Crime, and said, "In order to combat the smuggling of migrants conducted by organized criminal groups, regional and bilateral cooperation is indispensable."

He further said, "The socially vulnerable and marginalized, especially women and children, are especially prone to fall victim to international crime rings. The victims are exploited in various ways, but the most egregious violation of human rights and dignity is seen in 'trafficking in persons' cases." And referred to the "Asia-Pacific Symposium on Trafficking in Persons" hosted by the Japanese government in January this year. He also mentioned discussions in the G8; the adoption by the UNGA of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the activities undertaken by an international NGO called ECPAT to address the trafficking in children for sexual purposes; and the Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation to be held next year in Yokohama.

At the end, he explained the concept of "human security" as a guiding principle in dealing with the movement of people. In conclusion, he said, "The issue of the international movement of people requires a human-centered approach to alleviate suffering and ensure they can pursue their lives free from fear. Based on this principle, efforts should be made to protect the dignity of each individual through cooperation among states, international organizations, NGOs and individual citizens."

Mr. Forter Gadit PUGUON (commentator) resonated with the statement made by Mr. TAKASU, on its general overview of the international movement of people and the role of the immigration control, and the painful reality that globalization does not benefit all people. He also appreciated human centered approach presented by Mr. TAKASU.

He explained the importance of facilitating the movement of business people especially to invite foreign investment and mentioned fast track business visa system. He also explained memorandum of agreement with China on tourism, and various consultations taking place among ASEAN countries. He mentioned APEC Business Travel Card system in which the Philippines participates. He appreciated the technical cooperation program organized by Japan for the development of human resources for ASEAN.

He mentioned the flow of unskilled labor to the urban center of developed countries and referred to the OECD communique and protection of human rights of migrant workers. In this connection, he appraised the role of the IOM.

Mr. OH Jeong Yeol (commentator) said, "A shortage of labor in some countries will lead foreign manpower to move to other countries seeking their jobs," and pointed out the problems such as working conditions, difficulties to overcome culture gaps, confrontation with workers in local communities.

He raised the question of illegal migration related to illegal entry by counterfeit travel documents and explained the countermeasures. He said, "The Republic of Korea, nevertheless, has maintained the open policy," saying, "Generosity of immigration policy in some cases may generate illegal entry." He mentioned the problem of illegal overstayers. He stressed the importance of international cooperation in this field, and referred to the Pacific Rim Immigration Intelligence Conference (PACRIM Conference) among 10 countries for information exchange and mutual cooperation.

In the closing session, Mr.Koichi TAKAHASHI, Assistant Vice-Minister of Justice of Japan, summarized the discussion and expressed his gratitude to all participants.

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