Hon Iain Lees-Galloway
Minister of Immigration
MEDIA STATEMENT
7 August 2018
New Zealand determined to stamp out people smuggling
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.
More information on the Bali Process can be found here: www.baliprocess.net
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