21 December 20231Tokyo Immigration Forum
Immigration Services Agency, Ministry of Justice, Japan
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honor and privilege to deliver this address, as Director of the Division of International
Protection at UNHCR, at the 3rd Tokyo Immigration Forum.
As a regular platform for States to share information and practices and exchange opinions on current
immigration trends and issues, the Tokyo Immigration Forum provides an important space to enhance
cooperation between States under the leadership of the Immigration Services Agency of the Ministry
of Justice, Government of Japan.
UNHCR is grateful to have been invited to this year’s forum.
I want to firstly thank the Immigration Services Agency for providing this opportunity to share our
perspective on:
 the global situation for refugees, forcibly displaced and stateless persons,
 some of the challenges posed by regional and cross-regional movement of displaced
populations, and
 how UNHCR sees opportunities for strengthening protection and solutions through better
cooperation and a comprehensive set of measures in different countries managing such
movements.
Globally, the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes due to persecution, conflict,
violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order, continue to increase, and
the projections for displacement related to climate events show some of the future challenges in this
area.
As such, protracted conflicts and multiplying new crises are driving the number of people forcibly
displaced to record levels every year – with some 114 million forcibly displaced today.
The majority of these are displaced within their own countries, at 62.5 million.
But the number of refugees is also one of the highest in recent years, at 36.4 million, the majority of
which are seeking protection in neighboring countries.
These trends evolve in the context of growing global economic migration as well as increased demand
for labour in countries with stagnating or declining populations.
It is important to recall that most migration is safe, orderly and regular and that there is no sharp
distinction between countries of origin and countries of destination for migrants1.1WBG Report page 43, https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2023
21 December 20232However, many regions and countries have also seen an increase in the mixed movements of both
refugees and migrants and onwards movement of refugees, including in an irregular manner.
The challenges managing this are not easy, especially for States, and there is no simple solution for any
particular situation, nor at global level.
The High Commissioner for Refugees in his opening statement at the seventy-fourth session of the
Executive Committee, in October this year, recalled that "mixed flows of refugees moving alongside
migrants along routes fraught with risks, like the scourge of human trafficking, represent one of the
biggest challenges we must face. We all agree that these movements are complicated to manage. For
countries of destination, of course, but also those of transit and origin". While some regions are more
affected by forced displacement and statelessness than others, and there are variations in the routes
and trends of mixed and onward movements of refugees and migrants, the challenges are seen across
regions, facing countries across the global.
Countries present today at this 3rd Tokyo Immigration Forum have many years’ of experience in
generously providing safety for those forced to flee as well as in managing labour migration as
destination, transit and countries of origin.
The importance of saving lives through rescue at sea operations and combatting trafficking and
smuggling are also well understood as central elements in this area.
I want to acknowledge the ongoing efforts and encourage continued cooperation and concrete
measures on these important issues.
But, allow me now to turn to some of the core tenets of how UNHCR considers a way forward to manage
these movements, and some suggested approaches.
To advance these efforts, UNHCR, working with IOM, has developed a route-based approach to engage
States on addressing mixed movements of refugees and migrants. This takes into account the entire
spectrum of situations in which people find themselves along key routes used by refugees and migrants.
It lays particular emphasis on saving lives, which must remain the top priority for governments and
partners everywhere, both at sea and on land. It also seeks to help states manage entry, in line with
their sovereign power to do so, in a manner which respects international law and provide protection to
those forced to flee.
To this end UNHCR is suggesting a comprehensive set of measures to be put in place. I would group
them into three categories.
Firstly, providing international protection and finding solutions for those forced to flee at an early stage
of the journey. and treating people on the move with dignity and respecting their rights.
This includes putting in place protection sensitive entry and admission systems. These are systems that
take into account the protection needs of individuals seeking access to State territory and the duty of
21 December 20233States to respect their obligations under international human rights and refugee law, including the
fundamental principle of non-refoulement.
Protection-sensitive entry systems should also be designed to prevent trafficking and smuggling and
need to be in place along the entire route, including in destination countries.
Strengthening asylum systems for refugees and rights-focused migration management is another key
element in this approach. A well-functioning asylum system, which provides fair and fast asylum
decisions using a variety of case processing approaches, is a vital tool for managing mixed movements
as it quickly identified those with international protection needs from those moving for other reasons.
When associated with prompt and humane return and complemented with lawful migration channels,
such a system can quickly respond to applications by those who are not in need of international
protection.
Strengthening asylum systems in the context of mixed movements and high levels of forced
displacement will require innovation, learning from good practices, and responsibility sharing between
States. One way that responsibility sharing can be concretely manifested in this area is by engaging in
regional as well as global processes to increase asylum capacity. The Asylum Capacity Support Group,
established under the Global Compact on Refugees, is a key mechanism through which States can
provide asylum support to other States in an impactful manner and contribute to the growing body of
expertise on how to implement fair and fast procedures.
It is also crucial to address immediate protection and assistance needs and comprehensively addressing
trafficking and smuggling. Legal, psycho-social and physical safety for victims of trafficking are
important prerequisites for access to justice and for victims’ to contribute to prosecution of traffickers.
Secondly, establishing legal pathways for safe, orderly and regular migration and inclusion of refugees
in the local economy.
Legal pathways for refugees are needed, which can be pathways that complement resettlement and
asylum, such as family reunification, private or community sponsorship, humanitarian admission
programmes, and education and labor mobility opportunities.
An additional component in the route-based approach is ensuring protection and rights centered
options in countries along the route that require specific efforts. Most refugees will stay in the
neighboring countries, or in countries in their region of origin, and it is important to ensure that they
have access to protection where they are. It is therefore equally important to include refugees in
national services, for example education and health, and to properly resource those systems.
Development aid to support these efforts must be a component of the approach.
Finally, efforts are needed to address root causes and supporting swift, safe and dignified return to the
country of origin of those who do not have international protection needs and are not able to avail of a
regular opportunity for migration or labor mobility.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you will have heard a route-based approach complements and reinforces
country-centered action and proposes a set of targeted and coordinated protection and assistance
interventions to States and other stakeholders along main routes.
21 December 20234Addressing forced displacement and mixed movements are complex challenges for all - countries of
origin, countries of transit and countries of destination. It requires international cooperation, resources,
and long-term investment.
The outlined strategic pillars and the content of the Route-Based Approach would need to be aligned
and adjusted to the regional context where it will be implemented.
In the context of the Asia and Pacific region, for example, UNHCR has already started mapping the
opportunities and challenges for a route-based approach that could enhance protection and solutions
for Rohingya refugees moving over maritime and land routes in South-East Asia. For this purpose, a task
team has been established to design a regional route-based approach to comprehensively address the
Rohingya onward movements. Responsibility sharing and engagement from States in this strategy is
the key to ensure its successful implementation.
The approach builds on the ambition of the New York Declaration, the Global Compact on Refugees
and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and aligns with the aims of the ASEAN
and the Bali Process, not least the Consultative Mechanism
In conclusion, international mobility, on a scale far larger than in the past, is a reality in today’s
globalized world. People seeking or in need of international protection may bring positive contributions
to the States which host them. There is scope for the phenomenon to be managed more effectively in
ways which could reduce some of the need for onward movement, on which we – as UNHCR – are
strongly committed to work together with states and other partners throughout the Asia and Pacific
region.
Thank you.