Cambodia takes first refugees from Australia in aid-for-refugees deal

PHNOM PENH (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cambodia has agreed to take four refugees held by Australia on the Pacific island of Nauru, kickstarting a controversial deal under which Phnom Penh will receive an extra A$40 million ($30 million) in aid in return for accepting asylum seekers. The deal, struck last September, has been criticized by human rights groups and opposition lawmakers in both countries, who accuse Australia of shirking its international obligations by redirecting asylum seekers to other countries in the region. The agreement only applies to refugees willing to go to Cambodia, one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in Southeast Asia, and so far none had volunteered despite incentives including cash payments. The four men - one Rohingya from Myanmar and three Iranians - are the first to be relocated under the terms of the deal. "The Royal Government of Cambodia has agreed to take four refugees to be resettled here permanently," Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Australia has agreed to cover the expenses of refugees who take up the offer for at least a year. The spokesman said that Cambodia and Australia were still in talks over exactly when the refugees would arrive. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said when the deal was signed that it was deeply concerned about the agreement and that Australia, as signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention, should not shift its responsibility for refugees elsewhere. Australia has been criticized at home and abroad for its tough immigration policies, which include sending asylum seekers to camps in impoverished Papua New Guinea and Nauru, where they face long periods of detention. The majority of asylum seekers on Nauru hail from the Middle East and Africa and tried to reach Australia by boat with the help of people smugglers. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday ruled out resettling any of the migrants stranded at sea in Southeast Asia waters, saying "Nope, nope, nope" when asked by reporters about the issue. (Reporting By Astrid Zweynert; Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; editing by Tim Pearce)