GLOBAL COMPACT FOR MIGRATION OBJECTIVES 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 21

Strengthening legal identity documentation

Legal identity documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, are critical to secure access to essential public services, safe employment, the right to nationality and freedom of movement. Ensuring all citizens have proof of a legal identity is central to sustainable development. Yet over 50 million children under the age of five in Asia and the Pacific have not had their birth registered.

Without documents, migrants and their children can be excluded from education, health care and other essential services, as well as be at risk of exploitation and human rights abuses. Limited institutional capacity to identify fraudulent documents at borders, enabling the spread of fake certificates and identity documents, compounds the challenge. In response, United Nations’ initiatives are supporting measures to strengthen document verification by immigration officials at border crossings.

The Asia-Pacific region hosts some 2.6 million stateless persons, accounting for 60 per cent of the world’s recorded stateless population. Efforts to end statelessness are ongoing in countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkmenistan.

Preventing migrant deaths and disappearances

Migrant deaths and disappearances are largely preventable. They remain a critical humanitarian and human rights issue in the region where people migrate for multiple reasons or are fleeing conflicts or disasters. Migrants also go missing in immigration detention, where they may be denied contact with their family members, who may not be informed of their location or circumstances.

Since 2020, at least 4,555 migrants have been reported missing or dead in Asia and the Pacific. States have an obligation to search for missing migrants and conduct effective and impartial investigations. Positive measures have been taken on which we must build.

• Bangladesh, Maldives, the Republic of Korea and Thailand ratified the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

• Indonesia and Thailand are working through the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and with the United Nations to advocate for the rights of victims of forced disappearance

Strengthening efforts against smuggling of migrants

The smuggling of migrants by land, sea, and air is a is a crime in international law, yet in some cases it may be the only option available. Smugglers exploit for profit the gaps in migration governance created by limited regular migration pathways. The illegal nature of smuggling creates an acute power imbalance between migrants and smuggles, that can expose migrants to severe rights violations. More reliable data and strengthened governance are critical to combat smuggling effectively.

Trafficking in persons

Trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality to commit online scams and financial fraud is a growing trend in South-East Asia, driven by organized criminal groups. People are illegally recruited and deceived into situations where they endure inhumane treatment and serious human rights violations. They are forced to scam people located all around the world.

A human rights-based response is not always taken. Authorities frequently fail to recognize forced criminality as a form of exploitation within the legal definition of trafficking. This leaves victims without the protection and support they need and exposes them to prosecution for immigration offences committed as a consequence of their being trafficked. In response, government agencies and civil society in South-East Asia are working to better respond to transnational organized crime and support people trafficked into scam operations.

Promoting simplified border procedures

Simplified border procedures can promote safe, orderly and regular migration across the diverse border situations in Asia and the Pacific. In many cases, practical, secure and efficient approaches are taken to border management. Yet external pressures, such as the pandemic and conflicts, can lead to strict border controls that have negative human rights implications. They can also increase reliance on smugglers and compel migrants to take riskier routes.

A promising initiative is the Mekong Border Pass system, which simplifies travel and trade between Thailand and its neighbours: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar. Residents of border provinces can make short visits without full visas or passports. This tangibly demonstrates how simplified border procedures can support safe, orderly and regular migration, while promoting local economies and regional cooperation.

Towards rights-based immigration practices

An effective, rights-based immigration system should minimize the need for immigration detention. Although arbitrary immigration detention remains common across the region, progress has been made towards a rights-based approach.

Key advances include rulings against indefinite detention of migrants and steps in some countries to reduce or end the detention of children — a critical move given its harmful effects on children’s health, development and safety, and their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.

Alternatives to detention are urgently needed: approaches rooted in care, offering humane solutions that respect migrants’ rights. Positive practices include efforts to keep children out of the immigration detention system.

Promoting sustainable reintegration

Return and reintegration programmes must be carefully planned before, during and after migration to ensure shared responsibility between origin and destination countries. Voluntary return should always be prioritized over forced return.

The lack of comprehensive legal frameworks complicates safe return and reintegration, while pushbacks violate migrants’ rights and endanger their lives. Sustainable reintegration requires pre-departure information, return support and recognition of age, disability and gender-specific challenges. Strong bilateral and multilateral agreements are essential for coordinated case management and migrant rights protection.