Indonesia commenced on Monday a two-day international meeting aimed at increasing global comprehensive and coordinated approach to deal with irregular movement of persons at sea.

The meeting, themed International Workshops on Irregular Movement of Persons At Sea, was to follow suit the Jakarta Declaration on Addressing Irregular Movement of Persons that was agreed in Special Conference on Irregular Movement of Persons held here in Aug. 20 last year.

Inaugurating the event attended by delegates of 16 countries and three international organizations, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said that discussions on seeking comprehensive solutions need to be conducted as incidents at sea involving people in human trafficking, asylum seeking and other illegal activities remain a problem in many parts of the world despite efforts conducted through the Bali Process.

"The cross border and complex nature of irregular movement of persons defies national solution. It demands comprehensive national, regional and global approaches. It was recognition of this reality that laid the foundation of the Bali Process launched a decade ago. It was relevant then and remains relevant today," Marty told the delegates attending the meeting.

Indonesia has been actively involved in Bali Process, an international forum joined by 50 countries and many international organizations that facilitate discussion and information sharing related to people smuggling, human trafficking, trans-national crimes and appropriate responses to those issues.



He added that the workshop serves as a channel to translate the recommendations of the Jakarta Declaration into concrete actions, including the formulation of standard operating procedure in dealing with irregular maritime movements of persons.

The Indonesian foreign minister said that the workshop was highly expected to formulate procedures aimed at ensuring protection for those victimized by such activities.

"We must ensure that their humanitarian needs are addressed and their human rights are protected and respected, regardless their legal status. Their need for assistance extends beyond the end of their intended journey,"the minister said.

Marty encouraged workshop participants to enhance the search and rescue operation to avoid loss of lives at sea, develop protection-oriented migration management centers to eliminate possibility of fatalities at sea and mobilize resources towards efficient management of irregular migration and victim protection.

Indonesia has been the stopover point of illegal migrants from Middle East and South Asia intending to seek asylum in Australia with illegal and risky boat trips that often ended up with deaths of those people due to mishaps at sea.