Extra funding to combat people smuggling
The Australian Government has provided more than $18 million to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to combat people smuggling and manage irregular migration.
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said that more than $10 million will be provided to the UNODC to fund three projects specifically to target transnational crime and people smuggling activity throughout Asia.
The first of these UNODC projects will fund computer-based training designed to equip border staff with the knowledge and skills to detect and stop people smuggling activities. In delivering training through the computer-based model, the government anticipates these modules will reach significant numbers of staff across a broad range of locations.
The second project will finance the creation of a coordination and analysis unit to gather, examine and distribute statistics on people smuggling across the region. The third project will fund the expansion of UNODC's border liaison officer network to strengthen cross-border cooperation and to elevate the issue of people smuggling within the network.
The three projects will be delivered over four years to Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. The coordination and analysis unit and computer-based training project will also be implemented in Indonesia.
The $8 million commitment to IOM will enable the organisation to maintain its network of outreach offices in Indonesia over the next four years.
'The IOM commitment will boost efforts between Australia and Indonesia to combat irregular migration and ensure the suitable treatment of irregular migrants,' Senator Evans said.
'The funding will enable IOM to continue to assist Indonesian authorities to monitor and manage irregular migration flows and gather information on people smuggling activity.'
'The IOM will also undertake training with local authorities and information dissemination through its network of offices to raise awareness about people smuggling issues.'
IOM has offices located throughout Indonesia, from Medan in the west to Kupang in the east, adjacent to the main people smuggling routes.
'Conflicts in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka as well as ongoing problems in Iraq and Africa have forced millions of desperate people to flee their own countries and seek safety elsewhere around the world,' Senator Evans said.
'We will continue to see boat arrivals in Australia while people continue to flee war and persecution and people smugglers will continue to exploit the vulnerability of these people.'
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/media/media-releases/2009/ce09085.htm
Last update: 15 September 2009 at 09:32 AEST