Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Papua New Guinea approves 50 applications from Manus Island asylum seekers but resettlement delayed

By Liam Cochrane
ABC       
Papua New Guinea has approved 50 refugee applications from the 1,000 men on Manus Island, but is yet to resettle anyone.
PNG's foreign minister Rimbink Pato said the assessment of asylum applications on Manus Island was going "full speed on every front".
"Fifty asylum seekers have been determined genuine refugees," Mr Pato said.
He said the men will be resettled in PNG but that has been delayed by the lack of a policy framework.
While a permanent policy has been under review for months, an interim plan has been announced.
Papua New Guinea will give refugees 12-month bridging visas and help them find jobs but the longer-term prospects for refugees are not clear.
Australia is funding a new immigration detention centre near Port Moresby that PNG officials say is for asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected and are being deported.
There have been no reports, so far, of negative assessments.

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