The
United Nations children's agency called on Australia Friday to scrap
"inhumane" plans to send unaccompanied minors to Malaysia as part of
a refugee swap.
Canberra has refused to exempt children from the agreement
under which it will send 800 boatpeople to Malaysia in return for accepting
4,000 registered refugees from Kuala Lumpur over a four-year period.
The first boatload to be transferred arrived at the Christmas
Island immigration detention centre on Thursday and there were 18 children, or
people claiming to be minors, among the 55 onboard.
About 13 of those children are believed to be travelling
without parents or other guardians, and UNICEF said they should not be sent to
Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention.
"UNICEF is extremely concerned about this deal. The
numbers are not large and these children we absolutely say should not be
deported," UNICEF Australia chief executive Norman Gillespie told AFP.
"To deport these children, who have already been
traumatised, to subject them to further trauma, we think is a very extreme
action."
The government has said it will assess minors on a
case-by-case basis and Gillespie urged Immigration Minister Chris Bowen to
exercise his discretion and look at each individual in a "very sympathetic
and empathetic way".
"We think the world is watching and we think Australia
really is not living up to its obligations and commitments under the convention
on childrens' rights," Gillespie said.
"We would say the first and last consideration is the
children, the welfare of the children, and to be traded as a number really is
just a very inhumane response to what is a humanitarian issue."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose government is attempting
to stem the flow of asylum seekers from countries such as Afghanistan and Iran
from arriving here via transit hubs in Asia, defended the deal.
Asked about the possibility of vulnerable children being sent
to Malaysia, Gillard confirmed that no group would be automatically exempted.
"What we've said consistently is that there will be no
blanket exemptions," she told ABC television late Thursday.
"There will be pre-transfer assessments and they will be
undertaken properly by the relevant officials."
Source : AFP
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