Australia, U.S. Reportedly Near Deal To Resettle Refugees
Refugees who tried to reach Australia and were sent to offshore camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru will be resettled in the U.S., the Australian newspaper reports.
The agreement to resettle 1,800 refugees will be announced within days, the newspaper said.
The Australian government would not confirm the deal, but government minister Christopher Pyne said it was feasible to complete the deal before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office.
“There certainly is time – two and a half months is plenty of time – and if that’s the case, it will be a great achievement for the Turnbull government,” he said.
In September, Australia said it would take in Central American refugees from camps in Costa Rica at U.S. request, raising the prospect that the U.S. would accept Australia’s refugees in return.
Refugees who try to reach Australia by boat are barred from ever settling in the country, and this week, the government introduced a bill to ban them from ever visiting the country for business, tourism or to see family. Immigration minister Peter Dutton has said he would announce the resettlement deal after that law is passed.
E.U. Extends Border Controls in Schengen Zone
The European Council approved a proposal allowing countries in the E.U.’s Schengen zone to continue border checks for a further three months.
The Schengen area was set up in 1995 and eliminated border controls across large parts of Europe. However, many European countries last year reintroduced border checks as large numbers of migrants and refugees made their way through the continent.
The E.U. sanctioned temporary border checks, which were set to expire on November 15. Now, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Norway will be allowed to extend border controls through next year.
Kenya May Delay Dadaab Closure
Kenyan officials suggested that the government may not follow through on its threat to close down Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, by the end of the month.
Kenyan interior ministry spokesperson Mwenda Njoka denied that the November 30 deadline was an ultimatum. “The government just set a target and when targets fail, they are rescheduled,” he said, according to Kenya’s Star newspaper.
More than 250,000 people live in the sprawling camp in eastern Kenya, most of them from neighboring Somalia. Kenya has been accused of putting pressure on refugees there to return home. The government has threatened to shut down the camp several times in the past, before backtracking on the deadline.
Kenyan civil society groups are challenging the camp’s closure at the High Court, arguing that it is unconstitutional, but an initial hearing this week was delayed due to “judicial administrative challenges.”
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