Nusa Dua, Bali, March 23, 2016 (Antara) - Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi of Indonesia and Julie Bishop of Australia here Wednesday closed the sixth Bali Process that yielded a 14-point Bali Declaration on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related Transnational Crime.
"...we are committed to have a mechanism of the Bali Process to facilitate timely and proactive consultation to respond to emergency situations. We underline the need to translate political commitments into concrete actions," the Declaration said.
Minister Marsudi cited the influx of Rohingya refugees in May 2015 as an emergency situation.
During the emergency situation, the Bali Process failed to offer either a concrete solution or cooperation in addressing the problem, she said at a press conference held after the closing of the meeting.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have been impacted by the influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
"This must not happen again. Indonesia believes, in this case, that the humanitarian aspect must prevail. It was for this reason that Indonesia went the extra mile in accepting irregular migrants last year. But the task at hand is much bigger than one country can handle by itself. Therefore, we need to establish a special mechanism that would allow us to address this collectively," the minister stated earlier in her opening remarks.
