Refugees rejected by Australia are to fly from the Pacific atoll of Nauru to be resettled in Cambodia, the Australian government said yesterday.
A charter flight could fly the first refugees to be resettled in Phnom Penh as early as Monday, according to a copy of a fact sheet that the Refugee Action Collective advocacy group said has been circulated in Nauru.
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s office did not specify when the first group would fly under a bilateral agreement signed by Cambodia and Australia in September last year.
“The first group of volunteers is anticipated to depart for Cambodia in the near future,” Dutton’s office said in a statement.
The agreement specifies that all the refugees who leave the Australia-run detention camp on Nauru must be volunteers.
The fact sheet, distributed by Australian officials, tells refugees that “Cambodia is a safe country where police maintain law and order.”
“It does not have problems with violent crime or stray dogs,” it said.
However, the US Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security reported this month that Cambodia’s crime rating was “critical.”
“Endemic corruption” within the Cambodian police force and judiciary compounded safety and security problems, leading to “civilian vigilante-style justice,” the report for last year said.
It said random gunfire incidents, as well as gunfire exchanges due to traffic accidents, occurred frequently.
The intergovernmental International Organization for Migration (IOM) was sending an official to Nauru “with an expectation of possible movements in the coming days,” its Bangkok-based spokesman Joe Lowry said yesterday.
The IOM plans to start a cultural orientation process on Nauru for refugees who want to go to Cambodia. It also plans to help them find housing, jobs and learn the language once they arrive.
The deal with Cambodia is costing the Australian government more than A$10 million (US$7.6 million) a year and has been condemned by human rights groups.
The fact sheet, dated Friday last week, promises a one-off package for the first who agree to be resettled.
“Moving to Cambodia provides an opportunity for you and your family to start a new life in a safe country, free from persecution and violence, and build your future,” it said. “If you are not in the first group of refugees to settle in Cambodia, your assistance package will be different.”
Refugee Action Collective spokesman Ian Rintoul said he had heard of no one on Nauru accepting the deal.
“I do know they spoke to Somalis yesterday and said it was the last day for them to agree, and none of them agreed,” Rintoul said. “They’re pushing pretty hard around the place, but as far as I know they’ve got no one yet.”
The fact sheet offered “cash in hand and in a bank account,” but did not specify sums.
The package includes help in finding work, as well as access to education, language training and health insurance for four years.
Australia refuses to resettle refugees who attempt to reach its shores by boat. It pays Nauru to house asylum seekers and has a similar deal with Papua New Guinea.
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