A Change of Guard

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Monday 19 May 2014

Cambodia close to signing off on refugee deal with Australia, says government

The Cambodian government says a committee considering a refugee deal with Australia has now completed its work and it hopes 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.
He said he hopes a deal can be done as soon as possible.
However, 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.
He says 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.
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.
However, the negotiations have been criticised by human rights groups and the Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy.
The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees condemned the negotiations, saying Cambodia is a vulnerable nation which is still recovering from civil war.
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".
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.

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