Australia replies to critics of Cambodia refugee plan
AFP / Taipei Times | 28 September 2014
Australian Minister of Immigration Scott Morrison yesterday defended
the Australian government’s plan to transfer refugees to Cambodia,
saying the program would start small, but be a long-term arrangement.
Under
Canberra’s immigration policy, asylum seekers who arrive on boats are
denied resettlement in Australia and sent to Papua New Guinea and the
Pacific state of Nauru.
On Friday, Morrison signed a deal in Phnom
Penh that would allow those in Nauru who have been given refugee status
to move to Cambodia, one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia.
Morrison
said it would be up to Cambodia to determine when it would accept the
refugees and how many would come, but that the plan could begin later
this year.
He downplayed reports that Cambodia would only take a
handful of refugees initially, saying Phnom Penh had made “a very strong
commitment” in signing up to the arrangement.
“What Cambodia is
saying, and we agree with them, is that you have to start off small,
make sure the program is working, and then build it up over time,”
Morrison said. “They are committed to this program. This is a long-term
arrangement and it’s one we’re both very committed to.”
Morrison
said the idea was for potential refugee resettlement anywhere in
Cambodia, with Australia providing support for housing, education and
health as well as language training.
The UN has criticized the
deal, under which Australia will also give Cambodia A$40 million (US$35
million) in additional aid over four years, as a “worrying departure
from international norms.”
“It’s crucial that countries do not shift their refugee
responsibilities elsewhere,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio
Guterres said on Friday, urging Australia to “reconsider its approach.”
Australia’s
move to transfer refugees to Cambodia is its latest immigration policy
to come under fire, having already earned criticism for sending
asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea and Nauru and turning back
Australia-bound boats.
The government maintains the policies are
designed to crack down on the people-smuggling trade following scores of
lives lost making the journey to Australia in recent years. Morrison
was unable to say how many refugees will end up in Cambodia.
“Only time will tell,” he said. “And it’ll be based on the success of the program over time.”
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