UN Condemns Australia Asylum Deal with PNG

{Australia’s government has issued images of refugees set for transfer to PNG where they are due to be processed}

{{The UN refugee agency has said it is troubled by Australia’s agreement with Papua New Guinea(PNG) in which any asylum-seekers attempting to reach Australia will have their claims processed in PNG and be resettled there if approved.}}

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a written statement issued on Friday that there were significant shortcomings in the legal framework for receiving and processing asylum-seekers from Australia.

“With regard to the new measures, UNHCR is troubled by the current absence of adequate protection standards and safeguards for asylum seekers and refugees in Papua New Guinea,” the statement said.

“Australia’s Regional Resettlement Arrangement (RRA) with the Government of PNG raises serious, and so far unanswered, protection questions.”

The UNHCR’s concerns follow claims by a former senior official at one of Australia’s detention camps in Papua New Guinea that asylum seekers had been raped and tortured.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Graeme McGregor, a refugee campaign coordinator for Amnesty International Australia, said that the allegations by Rod St George, the former head of occupational health and safety at the at the Manus Island processing centre should be fully investigated.

{aljazeera}