The Royal Thai Government will organize the 2^nd Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean on 4 December 2015 in Bangkok.  The Conference seeks to follow up the progress in addressing the problem of irregular migration in the Indian Ocean based on recommendations put forward during the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean held on 29 May 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and the subsequent Emergency ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime held on 2 July 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Conference will be opened by H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs and chaired by Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

        Although the rigorous attempts by Thailand and countries in the region to crack down on transnational criminal networks involved in people smuggling and human trafficking have resulted in substantively reduction of unfortunate incident in the Indian Ocean since the Meeting in May, more needs to be done to solve this problem effectively and permanently. Affected countries in the region and relevant partners must work together to address the root causes as well as all the contributing factors along the way, in the spirit of international solidarity and shared responsibility.

         In this connection, The Royal Thai Government is inviting senior officials from 5 affected countries, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, and representatives of related partners such as the United States, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, the European Union, as well as international organizations, such as UNHCR, IOM, UNODC, and UNDP to attend the Conference with the aim to find ways and means to foster more concrete actions. The Conference will focus on, inter alia, the protection of migrants on-board, the establishment of an informal mechanism on law enforcement to address the problem of irregular migration and to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks, the implementation of a joint information campaign along the migration path to convey real risks of irregular migration and to deter smuggling and trafficking syndicates with the seriousness of countries in the region to combat and eradicate this horrific crime. Also, measures to address the root causes of migration, including socio-economic development of at-risk communities, are expected to be discussed during the Conference.