Manus Refugees Not Accepted by US to Remain in PNG

Australia's Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, says Manus Island refugees who are not accepted by the U.S., will remain in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

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Australia made a deal with the U.S. to take refugees from Australia's offshore facilities, but there is no guarantee how many it will accept.The refugee deal was struck with former U.S. President Barack Obama's Administration. The federal government has been very reluctant to definitively state how many of the detainees the U.S. would willing accept. The deal does not oblige the U.S. to actually accept the refugees, but simply to consider their applications. Refugees being held at the Australian-operated facility have come as far as from Iran. It has been reported that the Australian Government offered the asylum-seekers money to voluntarily depart PNG and return to their country of origin.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump chided Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and referred to the deal as a “dumb” one. "The Turnbull Government has put all their eggs in one basket with the U.S. agreement and failed to secure other third-country resettlement arrangements," Australian Labor Party's Immigration Spokesman Shayne Neumann said.

Dutton said the former Labor government struck a deal for PNG to resettle people and he expected the country to fulfill the commitment. "We'll work with the PNG Government but some people will remain in PNG," he told Sky News. "We've been very clear with the PNG Government: that's the nature of the agreement struck between prime ministers [Peter] O'Neill and [Kevin] Rudd. "PNG itself is a signatory to the [refugee] convention and to the protocols, PNG has the responsibility to settle those people”.

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The immigration minister added that U.S. Homeland Security and State Department officials were examining the cases of people on Manus and that he was hopeful many would be accepted. "We've been very encouraged by the approach of the officials," he said. "We think there's significant scope for a large number of people but we don't have an exact number as yet."

Dutton also added that he expected the Manus Island detention center to be closed before the end of October, following a court-mandated decision last year. "The Turnbull Government needs to clarify what the Australian Government's role will be in Manus Island once the offshore processing center closes in October, and what support and assistance will be offered to refugees who are forced to remain in PNG," Neumann said.