4th Working Group Meeting Malaysia-Australia On People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons

PRESS STATEMENT

 Y.BHG. TAN SRI MAHMOOD ADAM
SECRETARY GENERAL, MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

 4^th WORKING GROUP MEETING MALAYSIA-AUSTRALIA ON PEOPLE SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

14-15 NOVEMBER 2011
AUSTRALIA

 20 NOVEMBER 2011

1. The Fourth Working Group Meeting between Malaysia and Australia on People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons was held on 14-15 November 2011 at Langham Melbourne Hotel in Melbourne, Australia. The Fifth Working Group on Immigration Cooperation was held pursuant to this meeting on 11 November 2011 at the same venue.

2. The Malaysian delegation to this meeting was led by Y. Bhg. Dato’ Alwi bin Hj. Ibrahim, Senior Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs while Dr Margot McCarthy, Acting National Security Adviser and Mr Michael Pezullo, Chief Operating Officer of the Australian Customs & Border Protection Services alternately led the Australian side during the meeting. 

3. The Working Group Meeting on People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons is hosted alternately between Malaysia and Australia. The Working Group that was mooted by the Y.B. Minister of Home Affairs, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had its inaugural meeting in August 2009 in Kuala Lumpur.

4. The Working Group Meeting on People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons involves the participation of multi Ministries / agencies from both countries encompassing policy, enforcement as well as legal personnel who are dealing with both crimes. Delegation from Malaysia consist of representatives from Ministries of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defence, National Security Council, Attorney General’ Chambers including enforcement agencies namely the Royal Malaysian Police, Immigration Department and the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency.

5. Hon. Brendan O’Connor, Minister of Home Affairs, Australia graced the opening of the meeting. During his opening remarks, he referred to YAB Perdana Menteri’s recent remarks during the CHOGM Meeting in Perth in October 2011 in supporting Malaysia-Australia Arrangement on Transfer and Resettlement of Refugees and Asylum Seekers. He emphasised that the Arrangement will remain as Australia’s main agenda.

6. The meeting focused amongst others on the overview of people smuggling and trafficking in persons’ environment including emerging trends and issues, regional cooperation framework and international legal cooperation to investigate and prosecute syndicates of both crimes, maritime surveillance and interdiction cooperation including border management.

7. Some of the important outcomes derived from the meeting are as follows:

• Both sides to consider jointly hosting a multilateral workshop on enhanced regional cooperation to deal with people smuggling and human trafficking drawing on Malaysia and Australia whole-of-government experience in the development of the bilateral Arrangement;

• Both sides to consider possible approaches for greater involvement of source countries in regional collaborations in the spirit of the Regional Cooperation Framework under the Bali Process.

• Both sides agreed in-principle to the inclusion of counter-terrorism and human trafficking aspects under the Bilateral Technical Legal Working Group;

• Both sides agreed on the holding of a Workshop on prosecuting transnational crime;

• Both sides agreed to continuing and enhancing intelligence exchange cooperation including further training opportunities for the enforcement agencies of both sides;

• Both sides agreed in principle for Malaysia to co-host an ASEAN-Australia workshop on visa integrity in March 2012; and

• Both sides agreed in principle for Malaysia to co-host a Bali Process Ad-Hoc Group Technical Experts Meeting on Irregular Movement in May 2012.

• The Working Group is a strong testimony of the existing excellent bilateral relations between Malaysia and Australia on security matters particularly in deterring both crimes including other issues related to transnational crime. It is also a strong reflection of what like-minded countries could achieve in the region in tackling the evolving regional people smuggling and trafficking in persons environment. The next Working Group Meeting will be hosted by Malaysia in 2012.

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