Bali Process Completes GFMD Asia Pacific Consultations

01 July 2020

GENEVA: Member States of the Bali Process, a major Regional Consultative Process focused on combating people smuggling, trafficking in persons and transnational crime in the Asia Pacific region, today completed their round of consultations as part of the GFMD 2020 Regional Meetings. 

The Bali Process consultations focused discussions in three key thematic areas: exploring means of leveraging technology to empower migrants; addressing gaps in migrant protection; and issues relating to irregular migration. Breakout sessions were led by Gibril Faal, Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, John Bingham, an independent consultant and former coordinator of the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism, and Kathleen Newland, Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute. 

Commenting on the Bali Process consultations on behalf of the GFMD Chair, Abdulla AlNuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Communications and International Relations, UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said, “The Bali Process has deep expertise when it comes to tackling issues relating to the exploitation of migrants, and perspectives from Bali Process participants have enriched the GFMD’s 2020 programme significantly. We are grateful to the governments of Australia and Indonesia, Co-Chairs of the Bali Process, for their assistance in co-organising this consultation in partnership with the GFMD.” 

The Global Forum on Migration and Development, founded in 2007, is the main inter-state process on migration and development, bringing together governments with other stakeholders to maximise the development outcomes of international migration. Under the current 2020 Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates, the GFMD is convening meetings for six key regions: Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and South Asia, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all meetings are being held online.