Australia has reached a resettlement deal with the
United States for refugees being held in Papua New Guinea and Nauru
after attempting to reach Australia by boat, Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull said on Sunday.
Under Australia’s tough border security laws, asylum seekers
intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for
processing at detention camps on Papua New Guinea’s Manus island
and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru.
Some 1,200 people are in detention, with many held for more than
three years. The United Nations and human rights groups have
criticised the detentions.
"I can now confirm that the government has reached a further
third country resettlement arrangement for refugees presently in
the regional processing centres. The agreement is with the United
States," Turnbull told a press conference in Canberra.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to ban Muslims
from entering the United States and championed anti-immigration
policies, raising uncertainty about the resettlement deal. Many of
the detainees come for Afghanistan and Iraq.
Amnesty International said it was extremely concerned about the
lack of information around the timeline and the number of refugees
to be processed. No timeline was given for the process.
"Amnesty International has seen first hand the horrific abuse
that is being inflicted on people in Nauru and on Manus island, so
we are pleased that for those who may be resettled in the U.S. the
abuse will come to an end…," said Dr Graham Thom, Refugee
Coordinator at Amnesty International Australia.
Abdul Aziz, 24, who has spent more than three years on Manus
Island after fleeing his home in Sudan in 2013, was very happy.
"All the refugees were smiling and hugging each other. This
nightmare is going to end finally, but the main question is when
and how and how we get out of here," he told Reuters.
The agreement, to be administered with the U.N. High Commission
on Refugees (UNHCR), is available only to those currently in the
processing centres and will not be repeated.
Turnbull would not say how many refugees would be resettled in
the United States, but that women, children and families would be
prioritised. Those who have had refugee applications rejected
should return to their countries, he said.
While noting Australia’s detention policy had caused "immense
harm to vulnerable people", the UNHCR said it will endorse
referrals made from Australia to the United States.
The detention of asylum seekers is a hot-button political issue
in Australia, but has bipartisan support as the policy has won
elections. However, it has been condemned at home and overseas amid
reports of systemic abuse.
The U.S. resettlement deal relieves a major headache for
Turnbull, whose poll numbers fell to a 14-month low last week,
raising speculation of fresh political turbulence in a country that
has had four leaders in six years.
Papua New Guinea has said it will close the Manus island centre
after its supreme court ruled detention of asylum seekers there was
unconstitutional. The Nauru facility will remain open.
Asylum seekers who refuse offers to resettle or to return home
will be offered a 20-year visa to stay on Nauru, but no financial
support, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said.
Once rich in phosphate, Nauru has limited economic resources and
the Australian-funded detention centre provides the tiny island
state’s most significant revenue stream.