The Honorable Vice President and Minister of Justice Senior departed Palau today to attend the 8th Bali Process Ministerial Conference in Adelaide, Australia. The Conference, which will be held on 10 February at the Adelaide Convention Centre, will bring together government and business representatives from thirty-four (34) member countries of the Bali Process as well as representatives from various international organizations, including the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Bali Process, co-chaired by Australia and the Republic of Indonesia, is a forum for policy dialogue, information sharing and practical cooperation to help the region address challenges on people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crimes.
The 8th Bali Process Ministerial Conference will allow government and business leaders to discuss, at the Government and Business Forum Plenary, the following two items: 1) Progress and Commitments: AAA Recommendations and 2) Areas for Future Collaboration, and at the Ministerial Plenary, discuss: 1) Technology and 2) A future focused Bali Process. It is greatly anticipated that the collaboration of the Bali Process Members during this Conference will allow for not only the adoption of the Strategy for Cooperation 2023, but also result in tangible ways to help members’ efforts in combatting people smuggling, human trafficking and other transnational crimes.
Since its placement on Tier 2 Watch List on the TIP Reporting to the US Department of State, Palau has significantly increased and improved its efforts in counter trafficking issues on the areas of prevention, protection, and prosecution with the leadership and direction of the Anti-Human Trafficking Working Group (co-chaired by the Vice President and Minister of Justice and the Minister of Human Resources, Culture, Tourism, and Development). At the Conference, Vice President and Minister of Justice Senior will have the opportunity to make interventions on the status of the implementation of the Bali Process in Palau.