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UN REFUGEE AGENCY EXPRESSES “DEEP CONCERN” AFTER AUSTRALIA AND CAMBODIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON REFUGEES

29th September, 2014

The UN refugee agency has expressed its "deep concern" at the precedent set with the signing last Friday of an agreement between Australia and Cambodia to relocate refugees from Nauru to the South East Asian nation.

Under the agreement, people transferred by the Australian Government to Nauru and found to be refugees but barred from settling in Australia will be offered permanent settlement in Cambodia.

Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the arrangement was a "worrying departure" from international norms. "We are seeing record forced displacement globally with 87 per cent of refugees now being hosted in developing countries," he said. "It’s crucial that countries do not shift their refugee responsibilities elsewhere…I hope that the Australian government will reconsider its approach".

Earlier, the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to explain how he would prevent the $40 million being paid to the Cambodian Government from ending up in the pockets of corrupt politicians in Cambodia.

The taskforce said the Australian Government should be "responsible stewards of our tax dollar, instead of buying a political solution for the small number of asylum seekers, compared to other countries, that seek asylum in Australia".

Misha Coleman, taskforce chief, said that even if Cambodia did take 1,000 refugees under the deal, a bill of $40 million was too high. She added that it was also not hard to imagine the refugees trying to escape poverty-stricken Cambodia, where 70 per cent of the population live on less than $US2 a day, to more prosperous locales like Bangkok. "I wonder whether the Government of Thailand has been asked about this deal?"

In a statement released on Friday, the Australian and Cambodian Governments said that under the Memorandum of Understanding signed that day, refugees would be offered settlement in Cambodia "on a voluntary basis and in conformity with the Refugees’ Convention", with the number and timing of refugee settlement to be determined by Cambodia.

Australian Immigration MInister Scott Morrison said the decision would mean "a number of those found to be in genuine need of protection will now have the opportunity and support to re-establish their lives free from persecution".

UNHCR said as of 31st August, there were 1,084 people on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and 1,233 people on Nauru. They also said Cambodia currently hosts 70 refugees and 20 asylum-seekers.

– DAVID ADAMS

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