Statement by H.E. Dr. A. Abdullah
Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan

Presented at The Second Bali Regional Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime

Bali, Indonesia - 28-30 April 2003

Excellencies, Co-chair Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and Australia, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

I am pleased to see myself among Ministerial colleagues and delegates from the friendly Asia-Pacific region and beyond on the beautiful Island of Bali.

I am glad to see Bali at peace and prospering again after the tragic and devastating terrorist attack of last October. We know what it means to be a victim of terrorism, as my country is pursuing the path of recovery, normalcy and democracy after 24 years of war, invasion, terrorist tyranny and abject poverty. Our presence in this high-level conference, accentuated by the smiles on the faces of the Balinese people, is yet another testimony to the failure of international terrorism.

In February last year, during the first Bali Regional Ministerial Conference, my colleague, Justice Minister Karimi, discussed the root-causes of forced movement and displacement of people. He shared the Afghan experience with the participants of the conference.

Since then, Afghanistan has undergone massive positive changes. Let me briefly remind you that between 1978 and 2001, Afghanistan witnessed the forced movement and migration of over seven million of its citizens. We also experienced a different form of trafficking and smuggling into our territory as a result of invasions, international terrorism, drug production and trafficking, and other by-products of armed conflict. Our country became a terrorist training camp and a killing-field where even centuries-old artifacts and statues were not spared by the radicals.

For almost a quarter of a century, foreign invasions and interferences, repressive and dictatorial regimes, the establishment of terrorist networks, natural disasters, poverty and economic hardship contributed to the forced movement of millions of Afghans seeking refuge outside of their homeland.

With the assistance of our friends from around the world, including the international coalition fighting terrorism, the nations providing security in Kabul under the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force, and a much-needed reconstruction aid package - for which the Afghans are very appreciative - we have strived to rebuild the country's institutions and revamp its economy within a secure environment under the rule of law. We still continue to face isolated threats from remnants of terror hiding in our region, but today Afghanistan is relatively safe and the home of all Afghans again. Under new government policies, no Afghan has been persecuted for his or her political, religious, linguistic or ethnic affiliation, and no Afghan has been forced to leave the country. In contrast, more than two million Afghans have voluntarily returned to their homeland, showing great confidence in the new changes over the past 18 months.

Terrorist elements were, and in some cases, still are linked to narcotics and people smuggling and trafficking operations, as well as to document fraud, money laundering and arms smuggling. As we continue to make progress in our common war on terrorism, we automatically see positive changes in narcotics and people smuggling, and a decrease in fraud and money laundering.

The lack of effective control over Afghanistan's porous borders is one of the key challenges facing us. Terrorist elements continue to take advantage of this shortcoming and smuggle their operatives into Afghan soil.

For the first time in five years, Afghanistan has fortunately received a good amount of rain and snow after a devastating drought and two deadly earthquakes. But the presence of millions of mines and live explosives continues to keep part of our agricultural lands useless and some of our refugees away.

As the rehabilitation of the public and private sectors gets underway, more employment opportunities present themselves for skilled and semi-skilled workers. Despite this, poverty and a shattered economic infrastructure confront the country. The per capita expenditure towards the recovery and reconstruction of Afghanistan is less than those of other post-conflict countries of the past decade. Still, large numbers of Afghans are unemployed and without any means of income. This could lead to a counter movement of economic migrants to other countries. We would like to avoid this at all cost.

On the other hand, the voluntary return of more than two million Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from around the world, mostly from Pakistan and Iran - two neighboring countries who graciously hosted our refugees for many years - and a significant proportion from the Asia-Pacific region with the help of international organizations such as the UNHCR and the IOM, has been very effective in deterring illegal migration. However, despite our plea for assistance for the basic needs of the returnees, no significant aid has been delivered so far. With very limited resources and services to offer to the returnees, the Afghan Government is in no position to introduce a policy of encouragement for return at this stage. But, of course, we will continue to welcome their voluntary return.

As we move towards the adoption of a new Constitution in Afghanistan by the end of this year, specific laws will certainly be introduced criminalizing people smuggling and trafficking in persons.

The Afghan experience clearly shows that bringing positive and sustainable economic changes in the source countries is the best investment in our campaign against people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crimes.

The Bali process has certainly brought new awareness on people smuggling in our part of the world. Afghan law enforcement agencies, despite their shortcomings and lack of resources, are determined to address this matter. In this regard, I urge your countries, in particular the destination countries, to provide direct and effective assistance toward Afghan institutional capacity-building and enhance the technical needs of our law enforcement agencies.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I would like to acknowledge and extend my appreciation for the constructive role Australia plays in assisting Afghanistan's visa and border control systems. We have also agreed to voluntary repatriation programs with several countries, including Australia, offering Afghans who fled the conflict in Afghanistan before 2002 to return home with honor while being offered an aid package, for which we are thankful. We would like to see the successful implementation of these programs. I also wish to thank Indonesia and other countries in the region for providing for the welfare of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers during their stay, and for their cooperation in handling the voluntary, safe and dignified return of our citizens.

Distinguished delegates,

On this occasion in Bali, I have the pleasure to announce that upon my departure from Kabul two days ago, His Excellency President Hamed Karzai signed a decree pursuant to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crimes and its Protocols, and in light of the Bali process. The Afghan Government has decided to set up a Joint Ministerial Commission to take care of matters related to people smuggling, trafficking in person and transnational crimes. The Commission will incorporate the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defence, Justice, Frontiers Affairs, Refugees and Returnees and the National Directorate for Security. The Secretariat of this Commission will be based within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Commission's main activities will include among other duties:
- to launch nationwide public awareness campaigns
- to facilitate collective, integrated and comprehensive national, regional and international efforts
- to assist victims of people smuggling
- to legislate the arrangements for dignified and sustainable repatriation of smuggled Afghan nationals
- to conduct legislative review and national law enforcement on people smugglers.
- to study a draft set of regional and international operational standards and its
implementation within Afghanistan.
- to address the root causes of the illegal movement of people in Afghanistan, and to seek assistance from the international community in emergency aid, development assistance, direct support programs for displaced persons and for capacity building programs.
- to explore ways of improving technical capacity and initiate bilateral and multilateral programs
- And finally, to pave the way for a possible future workshop or conference on people smuggling in Kabul

I hope that with your cooperation and assistance this Commission will soon become operational and valuable counterpart for our joint efforts.

Let me thank the governments of Indonesia and Australia, my colleagues, the co-chairs, and all of you for your support. Undoubtedly, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan translates into a major loss and setback for smugglers. I am certain that together we will overcome this global problem, and Afghanistan stands ready to play its role in this regard.

Apr. 29, 2003