Voluntary Reporting System on Migrant Smuggling and
Related Conduct in Support of the Bali Process
(VRS-MSRC)
Geneva, 22 April 2013
Sebastian Baumeister
Coordination and Analysis Unit (CAU), UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific
In support of the Bali Process
At the 4th Bali Process Ministerial Conference in March 2011:
“Ministers agreed to strengthen engagement on
information and intelligence sharing, underscoring the
high value and utility that would derive from enhanced
information sharing. In this regard, Ministers welcomed
assistance from UNODC in establishing a voluntary
reporting system on migrant smuggling and related
conduct in support of the Bali Process.”
In support of the Bali Process
At the 5th Bali Process Ministerial Conference in April 2013:
“Ministers encouraged members to participate in the
Voluntary Reporting System on Migrant Smuggling and
Related Conduct developed by the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to strengthen its value as an
information database to enhance and better inform policy
development in response to migrant smuggling.”
Purpose
 To collect and share (non-nominal) information
on irregular migration and migrant smuggling
 To build strategic, evidence-based knowledge
Purpose
 To inform policies and operational measures
 To build trust and strengthen cooperation
between states
A secure, internet based, data sharing tool for
State authorities
 Allowing States to exchange up-to-date information
 Providing a national platform to bring together data from
various national agencies
What are the flows of irregular migration and migrant
smuggling, which are covered by the VRS-MSRC in
support of the Bali Process?
 The VRS-MSRC serves to collect data on migrant
smuggling and irregular migration within, through, from,
and to the Bali Process region.
Collecting and sharing data
Illegal entries






Total
By citizenship
By ‘countries of last
exit’
By entry point
By gender / age
By land/sea/air and
‘countries of last exit’
Refused entries


Total
By citizenship
Illegal residences



Total
By gender / age
By citizenship
Illegal exits







Total
By gender / age By
exit
points
By land/sea/air and
‘countries of next
destination’
By citizenship
Fraudulent
documents





Total
By “issuing countries”
By entry or exit points
Total persons using
fraudulent documents
By citizenship
Routes

By countries
Methods and fees

By “from country to
country”
Smuggled
migrants




Total
By citizenship
By entry or exit points
By land/sea/air and
‘countries of last exit’
Suspects of
migrant
smuggling



Total (number of
suspects)
By citizenship
By gender
Convicted migrant
smugglers


By gender
By citizenship
Interaction
between
migrant
smugglers
Migrant smugglers'
involvement
into other crime
areas
Clients of migrant
smugglers
Conducting analysis and building strategic
intelligence
 routes, methods used, fees paid
Conducting analysis and building strategic
intelligence
 Who is entering and staying in an irregular way?
Conducting analysis and building strategic
intelligence
 Who are the criminals facilitating irregular entry and
stay?
Based upon the principle of mutual information
sharing
Development of the VRS-MSRC
• More than 70 law enforcement officers from 23
countries & IOs
• Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China,
Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Thailand,
UK, USA, Viet Nam, Europol, Frontex,
INTERPOL, and the Pacific Immigration Directors’
Conference (PIDC).
Pilot phase in Oct. and Nov. 2012
 12 countries from Asia, the Pacific, Europe and
North America participated:
 Australia, Cambodia, France, Fiji, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Maldives, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Tonga, UK, and the USA as well as
the Pacific Immigration Directors’ Conference
(PIDC).
 Validation Workshop in BKK, in Nov.2012
Pilot phase results
 Participants unanimously underscored the high
utility of the VRS-MSRC:
 effective tool for sharing information a) among
States, and b) among relevant agencies at the
national level
 Participants identified a number of ways to
further improve the user-friendliness and the
functionality of the system
VRS-MSRC in 2013
 Launch in mid 2013
 1st reporting cycle covers two reporting periods:
 2012
 Jan. to June 2013
 Familiarization workshop
The future of the VRS-MSRC?
 Extension to other regions?
 One global tool to collect and share data?
The VRS-MSRC is a tool for States to
share data and build knowledge on
irregular migration and migrant
smuggling.
The more States contribute, the better
the information.
Main challenges in sharing of
strategic data?
 Competition among agencies at national level
 Lack of coordination and cooperation at national level
 Different understanding of terms
 Not all states collect the same data
 Mistrust
 Lack of international cooperation
 Irregular migration is a sensitive topic
 Lack of political will
 Translating political will into action
 Workload
Thank you!
UNODC VRS-MSRC TEAM
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific
UN Secretariat Building,
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200
www.unodc.org/eastasiaandpacific/
Email: vrs@unodc.org