Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Cambodian Interior Minister Sar Kheng toast their deal in September last year. Photo: Omar Havana
A convoy of high-ranking Australian and Cambodian officials have arrived in Nauru to secretly progress the controversial deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia.
The Australian delegation, including the head of Operation Sovereign Borders, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, and deputy secretary of Immigration Mark Cormack, arrived on the small Pacific island this week to meet with Cambodian and Nauruan officials. A small number of refugees were expected to voluntarily take up the offer to relocate to Phnom Penh for permanent resettlement by the end of 2014 as a "trial", but so far no refugees have arrived in the country.
A spokesman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton refused to confirm the meetings were taking place, saying: "It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing discussions between governments on this matter."
"The Australian government welcomes Cambodia's commitment and work under way to implement the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] on refugee settlement," he said.
But the International Organisation for Migration said the meetings would be observed by its Cambodian representative, Leul Mekennon.
The delegation visit coincides with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen marking his 30th year in power on Wednesday, which human rights advocates argue has been entrenched authoritarian rule and repression.
"Instead of cosying up to Hun Sen for a refugee deal, Australia should be looking at how it can support the Cambodian people in their struggle for free and fair elections, the rule of law and an end to corruption and land grabs," said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch.
Fairfax Media understands a number of Rohingya refugees are expected to take up the offer to resettle in the South Asian country, under the deal forged in September last year. At the same time as the deal was signed the Australian government gave Cambodia's Hun Sen government $40 million in "assistance development" over four years.
The agreement said Cambodia would decide on the timing and number of refugees that would voluntarily come to the country, while Australia was expected to bear the "direct costs" of the arrangement, including initial support to refugees and infrastructure.
According to the latest immigration statistics there are 895 people, including 135 children, being held in the Nauruan detention centre. There are another 100 refugees who have been resettled into the Nauruan community.
The meetings, which suggest a movement towards the resettlement deal, comes as the non-government organisation Save The Children has been replaced as the resettlement partners on Nauru by a consortium of resettlement services including Connect Settlement Services. The charity will still work within the detention centre.
A spokeswoman from Save the Children said they were proud of the work they did in a "very difficult environment".
"Save the Children believes that Nauru is not a sustainable, long-term option for the resettlement of humanitarian refugees," she said.
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