The UN refugees agency on Friday criticised Australia's plans to
include children among 800 asylum seekers to be sent to Malaysia to
have their refugee claims assessed.
"We are not able to lend our support to the text as it currently stands
because of the absence of the operating protection safeguards we have
been calling for," said Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, referring to a draft memorandum of
understanding between Australia and Malaysia.
"UNHCR has always stipulated that one of our specific requirements with
regard to the transfers is that protection safeguards are in place to
protect vulnerable groups, especially unaccompanied children," he added.
In a deal between Malaysia and Australia, unaccompanied minors will be
included in a plan to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia for
processing.
In exchange, Australia will accept some 4,000 registered refugees from the southeast Asian nation.
The plan has been severely criticised by rights groups because Malaysia
is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention, and over concerns that
asylum seekers sent to Malaysia could be mistreated. AFP
