Cambodia close to signing off on refugee deal with Australia, says government
The Cambodian government is in the final stages of
considering a refugee resettlement agreement with Australia and wants to
sign a memorandum of understanding as soon as possible.
Cambodia's
secretary of state in the foreign ministry, Ouch Borith, has told the
ABC a government study of the proposal has been completed and Cambodia
will deliver a counter offer to Australia within days.
The details
of the negotiations are being kept secret by both nations but it could
see up to 1,000 genuine refugees sent from Australia to one of the
world's poorest countries.
Mr Borith would not be drawn on how much Australia would need to pay Cambodia to take refugees from Nauru, how many it is willing to accept, or where they would live.
"I cannot let you know exactly the number of
the refugees that I can receive, because for one, if we decided to
receive refugees, it will be our responsibility to take care of all the
refugees that come to Cambodia," Mr Borith said.
He said officials want to travel to the Pacific nation
to oversee the refugee assessment process and Cambodia will only accept
refugees who voluntarily agree to go there.
"Cambodia wishes to share its experiences and the responsibility with Australia on this issue," Mr Borith said.
"So
far the working group already finished [its] studying on the draft
proposed by Australia and I think that maybe soon, maybe a few days,
maybe next week ... we'll send our counter-proposal to the Australian
side."
Analysing asylum proposal
If the Malaysia solution was complicated enough, Cambodia will be tricky in a much less developed country, writes Zoe Daniel.
Cambodia is a signatory to the refugee convention but in 2009 it forcibly deported 20 ethnic Uighur back to China.
However, Mr Borith said any refugees resettled under a deal struck between Cambodia and Australia would be safe.
"Different story, different from the refugees that we have discussed with our Australian friends to ... settle here," he said.
"The Uighur come here illegally. Far away from China to Cambodia, how many thousand miles is Cambodia?
"They
come here illegally. We can say that they [are] all illegal immigrants.
That is different from the refugees that we discussed today with
Australia."
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison held talks in Phnom Penh last month with the country's interior minister to follow up on an earlier request for the country to help resettle asylum seekers.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he would welcome a decision by Cambodia to accept asylum seekers from Australia.
Human rights groups raise concern for refugee safety
The negotiations between the two countries to resettle refugees has attracted criticism from human rights groups.
The
United Nations Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees has condemned the
proposal, saying Cambodia is a vulnerable nation which is still
recovering from civil war and unable to provide for its own citizens.
However, the UN's deputy high commissioner
for human rights Flavia Pansieri said the UN would be willing to provide
"support to ensure that standards are met".
Rohingya man Mohammed Ibrahim, who fled violence in Myanmar, is one of 69 refugees living in the Cambodia.
He said he has lived in one room in the basement of an apartment block for the past four years and struggles to find food.
We find this deal interesting, also surprising for the Cambodian government, I think they are more interested in the financial incentive that would be provided by the Australian government. - Kol Preap
"Cambodia is, right now, not ready to take any refugees from other countries," he said.
The
Buddhist monk and self-described human rights defender said Cambodia's
endemic corruption will mean Australian money will not go to those who
need it.
Transparency International executive director Kol Preap does not think Cambodia is ready either.
"We
find this deal interesting, also surprising for the Cambodian
government. I think they are more interested in the financial incentive
that would be provided by the Australian Government," Mr Preap said.
"What we are about most is ensuring that the money that is given is being managed properly."
However, Mr Borith dismissed the concerns about the plan.
"I
have no idea. You know, I have no comment on what is said about human
rights in Cambodia by, you know, the activists of civil society," he
said.
Cambodia, which in the 1970s and 1980s saw a huge exodus of
refugees fleeing war and starvation, is one of the world's poorest
countries and has been criticised by human rights groups over its record
on rights.
How can a nation with a serious problem of landless peasants entertain the thought of admitting refugees? Could it be that the corrupt officials who caused the problem of landless peasants through land-grabbing now stand to gain $ in the deal? The answer is all too obvious!
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