The global fight against people smuggling and human trafficking will be more effective when governments and businesses combine their powers, continuing the momentum of the Government Business Forum at the Bali Process, says Minister of Immigration Iain Lees-Galloway.
Minister Lees-Galloway highlighted the need for government and business to work together at the Seventh Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) Ministerial Conference, held in Bali, Indonesia 6-7 August.
“New Zealand is proud to be an active member of the Bali Process, and we recognise the instrumental role this forum plays in addressing the complex challenges of people smuggling, trafficking in persons, and related transnational crime in the Asia-Pacific region.
“New Zealand continues to lead the Working Group on the Disruption of People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Networks, alongside our Co-Chair Malaysia, and through the enhanced operational cooperation between countries, we have collectively dismantled a number of human trafficking and people smuggling networks operating in our region.
“Efforts to strengthen law enforcement cooperation are only one part of a comprehensive approach to migration management. Planning, preparedness and protection are equally important parts, and so too is the support of the business community.
“So much more can be achieved when government and business work together. Businesses have the power to influence change within supply chains, to drive up standards, and remove the profitability of trafficking and slavery.
“That’s why the Bali Process Government and Business Forum is so important.
“New Zealand is committed to working with the private sector, and in particular our business leader Rob Fyfe, with whom I participated in a forum of Kiwi businesses earlier this year.
“By working together, we can establish innovative and effective solutions to address human trafficking and modern slavery. There is no place for people smuggling and human trafficking in modern society,” says Iain Lees-Galloway.
