Security, Stability, and International Migration in the Asean Region

Security, Stability, and International Migration in the Asean Region

CONCEPT PAPER

SECURITY, STABILITY, AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN THE ASEAN REGION

This paper outlines a proposal by the United States and [ASEAN co-chair] for an ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) workshop on migration.

Background

Migration Trends

There are an estimated 234 millionmigrants in the world, including 30 to 50 million irregular migrants (those who move outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit, and receiving countries). As economies expand, people are traveling further and crossing borders to find work and improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. Refugees are also fleeing persecution and conflict. With upto 4million irregular migrants and refugees in Southeast Asia, migration intersects with regional development, humanitarian, and security issues. New trends and vulnerabilities are emerging including new migration routes, for example, from the Northern Greater Mekong Sub-region to China. Some migrantsuse dangerous maritime routes as their urgency in fleeing or seeking economic opportunities increases. Countries also send migrants to work overseas through legitimate migrant labor channelsin skilled and unskilled jobs. Although abuse and exploitation of migrants is not a new trend, governments in the region are devoting renewed attention to preventing and responding to these problems.

Migration Security Challenges

The perception of migration as a threat to national securitycan undermine the benefits that migrationcontributes to economic and social development. However, the burgeoning migrant smuggling and human trafficking networkspose a genuine threat to law and order. They are at times related to organized crime, corruption, and the movement of illicit goods, including weapons and drugs, or male fide actors. Migration flows between countries can create bilateral and regional tensions,strain limited resources, and erode the “host” environment. Destination countries’ economies can benefit immensely from migrant workers which form the bulk of the workforce in some of their most lucrative industries. Therefore it is crucial to learn how to balance human rights and humane treatment in managing regular and irregular migration with the need for securing borders and enforcementof immigration laws. Migration policies should protect the rights and dignity of migrants while preserving states’ ability to enforce immigration laws and ensure the safe, orderly, and humane movement of persons across national borders.

The arrival of large numbers of migrants, especially from ethnic, religious, linguistic, economic, social or cultural backgrounds different from those of the receiving communities can present political and social cohesion challenges for policy-makers, but itcan also be an opportunity for development and diversification. Due to a variety of factors, negative perceptions of migrants can make them magnets for resentment, exploitation, and harassment by both private individuals and government officials. This environment often leads to a widespread mistrust of authorities among foreign migrants, and governments and law enforcement must intervene to ensure public safety with protection of migrants. In extreme cases, these attitudes can lead to xenophobic violence.

Cooperation on Migration

States often view migration as a sovereignty issue, as any state has the right to control who crosses its borders and is a resident in its territory. Regional and international cooperation on migration, however, has been effective in addressing irregular migration andencouraging cooperation between states on humane migration management. Since its inception in 2002, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) raised regional awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime, and developed and implemented strategies and practical cooperation in response to these challenges. The Bali Process has more than 45 members, including ASEAN countries and international organizations. In October 2013,governments gathered to discuss emerging migration and development trends at the United Nations High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in New York.

Workshop Proposal

The ASEAN political security community hasdeveloped a “blueprint” that lays out many potential migration areas of focus. The document suggests the need for: (1) an ASEAN instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers; (2) cooperation for orderly repatriation of refugees/displaced persons and resettlement of IDPs during a crisis; (3) enhancing civilian-militarycoordination in providing effective and timely response to major natural disasters; (4) strengthening criminal justice responses to trafficking in persons; and (5) strengthening cooperation in the field of border management.

ASEAN Regional Forum workshops on migrationand human security will serve to review ASEAN Regional Forum priorities for promoting the benefits of legal, safe and orderly migration and addressing human security challenges associated with irregular migration, including the prevention of: radicalization, terrorist manipulation of migrants or migration infrastructure, and the mobility of known or suspected terrorists into or from refugee populations. This first workshop, in a series of workshops on humansecurity issues in the region, will be based on migration and will serve as a guide to determine the topics of the series of workshops on human security issues in the forum.

Workshop Format

The workshopsessions could feature expert speakers and participant dialogue on the following themes:

  • Regular and irregular migrationtrends in the region
  • Promotion of migrant workers’ rights and decent work
  • Demographics of migration in the ASEAN region and how data can help track important migration trends and inform policy
  • Migration’s effect on national security
  • Implications of migration on national and regionalstability
  • Key challenges in managing migration and human security
  • Challenges of devising migration policies consistent with international human rights principlesand standards
  • International and regional legal frameworks for developing humane migration management
  • Statelessness and migration
  • Migration’s effects on national identity, discrimination, and xenophobia
  • Challenges confronting effective cross-border cooperation in addressing migration flows
  • Challenges with international coordination and cooperation on population outflows to neighboring countries due to conflict/violence and natural disasters
  • Responding to migrants caught in acute crises
  • Maximizing the developmentbenefits of migration
  • Best practices in intra and inter-state coordination on migration
  • Strengthening criminal justice responses to trafficking in persons
  • Addressing exploitative recruitment practices
  • Regional preventive diplomacy mechanisms for addressing the human security implications of migration, including preventing the entry of known or suspected terrorists or their financiers into first entry and final destination countries
  • Developing legal intra-regional migration schemes
  • The role of the state, civil society (including religious communities),and international organizations in addressing migration challenges and irregular maritime movements.

ARF partners will contribute to the workshop bysharing their experiences and providing examples of challenges and lessons learned. Invited expert speakers will provide educational presentationsand case studies on specific areas of interest.

The workshop could also incorporate a tabletop exercise on migratory issuesto provide participants with another interactive opportunity to discuss relevant and related issues as well as possible courses of action.

Participation

Participants in the workshop could include Director level officials and subject matter experts from agencies in ARF that handle foreign affairs, labor and employmentborder management, immigration, counterterrorismrelief andhumanitarian response, and others as appropriate. It may also be appropriate to invite specialists from relevant international organizations as speakers and participants.

Output

A proposed output of this workshop is the identification and development of examples and “best practices” for ministerial approval as well as determining possible preventive diplomacy mechanisms and areas for cooperation to encourage safe, legal and orderly migration and address human security challenges of migration.

Outcome

A proposed outcome of this workshop is strengthened regional knowledge and capacity to address the human security challenges of migration. It will also serve to promote regional cooperation by enhancing cooperation among officials including improving data exchange and screening capabilities about dangerous persons from participating ASEAN countries.Depending on the outcome of this workshop, additional workshopscould be held on other human-security related issues.

Best practices and recommended preventive diplomacy mechanisms developed from the workshop would be reported to the 2015 ARF ministerial meeting for adoption.

Location and Dates

It is proposed that the workshop be two or three days in duration and held sometime in the 2014/2015 ARF cycle. The workshop would be conducted in English. The location is to be determined.

Administrative Arrangements

International travel, accommodations, and other related costs necessary for participation will be borne by the participants.

Co-chairing

The U.S. is seeking an ASEAN co-chair for this activity and will be approaching possible partners to determine their interest but would welcome expressions of interest.

Comments

Please direct comments or questions on this proposal to:Tharon Sperry ()

Political-Military Advisor, Office of Multilateral Affairs, U.S. Department of State.