Cambodia is ruled by a regime considered among the worlds most corrupt despite receiving hundreds of millions in foreign aid, including an additional $40 million from Australia over the next four years in return for the country taking refugees. A coalition of 21 organisations working to promote human rights in Cambodia on Friday described Australias refugee resettlement plan as a cynical attempt to place refugees who had already suffered persecution in their home countries and harsh detention in Australia into further hardship in Cambodia. Amnesty International called the plan a new low in Australias inhumane treatment of asylum seekers. The plan is also opposed by the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, which only has a small office in Cambodia and was excluded from negotiations that led to Australias Immigration Minister Scott Morrison signing the agreement in Phnom Penh on Friday.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 04:05:57 +0000