Participants strongly supported the Experts' Group continuing to develop a strategic plan directed towards achieving concrete outcomes to combat people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime.

This plan of action shall be based on the accepted principles of the Bali Process - that cooperation should begin from an acknowledgment that each State has a sovereign right and legitimate interest to develop and implement its own laws to address people smuggling and trafficking in persons, reflecting the non-binding nature of the Co-Chairs' Statement. Action to combat people smuggling and trafficking in persons should be integrated and comprehensive, with states working cooperatively and contributing according to their capability.

Officials are encouraged to keep the plan of action under review and to make progressive improvements.

Participants recognised the importance of regional cooperation in combating people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime. Participants agreed that the Experts' Group had made substantial progress towards developing and enhancing such cooperation at legal and operational levels. Participants strongly supported the Experts' Group continuing to build on this progress by focussing on regional cooperation in combating these crimes, especially in the fields of legislation and law enforcement.

Participants noted the important concrete outcomes in the development of legislation that were produced from the Legislation Development Workshop held in Port Dickson, Malaysia, in September 2002. These outcomes focussed on the comprehensive criminalisation of people smuggling and trafficking in persons. A number of states have criminalised people smuggling or trafficking in persons, or are in the process of doing so. Participants also noted the value of the model legislation developed as a result of the workshop, as a means of assisting in the development of national legislation.

This comprehensive criminalisation can be used to underpin effective legal cooperation in combating these people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime. Participants agreed on the value of continuing this process, which could be achieved through a further workshop focussing on the legislative requirements for effective cooperation.

Such cooperation might include the provision of mutual legal assistance in the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters; assistance in tracing, seizing and freezing the proceeds of these crimes; and the extradition or transfer of persons suspected or convicted of these crimes. The workshop could explore common elements and requirements in the effective provision of this vital cooperation.

Participants also agreed that a plan should be developed to make use of the information provided on national legislation as a result of the legislation workshop. Initially this information will be made available to participants on the website. This will then allow an analysis of the coverage of national legislation and capacity needs across the region.

One objective of the analysis of capacity needs, the elements developed at the legislation workshop and the development of model legislation will be to enhance and build on existing bilateral cooperation to develop national legislation.

Participants agreed on the need to establish a process for identifying capacity needs in the areas of operation, cooperation and investigation, identity verification and document identification. Participants have identified specific proposals for meeting capacity needs over the longer term.

They have sought to address issues such as the development of comprehensive national databases to assist in combating irregular migration; the continuing development of human resources to identify more effectively and combat irregular migration; the establishment of effective national intelligence systems that support enforcement activities; the establishment of document laboratories; and the review of border control systems.

Participants agreed to work towards an integrated plan of action to meet these identified objectives through a mixture of national priorities, regional cooperation and continuing bilateral cooperation.

One option might be the establishment of appropriate 'Resource Taskforces' to achieve specific tactical and strategic objectives. Such groups could be managed by a coordinator and jointly meet during the proposed annual senior officials meeting, to ensure coordination of the work of these taskforces. Some of the issues which might be addressed by such taskforces include a framework, on an ad hoc and voluntary basis, for the exchange of intelligence and consistent standards of assessment; agreed standards for document examination to reduce document fraud and provide intelligence to the network; establishment of links to the Working Group I Project and Interpol Project Fusion; a needs analysis for the region including assessment of capacity building needs/environmental scan and 'over the horizon' issues; ways to improve intelligence exchange; and training and research-analysis requirements.