150 million dollar deal sees Australia sending refugees to the Philippines

The government of Australia is reportedly entering into final negotiations with the

Philippine government in a deal that will cost around $150 million. The deal, which will

allow Australia to send refugees from the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, is

part of a Strategic Partnership Agreement that will cover trade issues and security

alliances.

The deal is seen as a move to finally address the controversies surrounding the Manus

and Nauru Islands Detention Centres.

Tents erected at the Manus Island Centre. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons.)

The Manus Processing Centre, located in Papua New Guinea, is an immigration

detention and offshore asylum processing center operated by the Australian

government. The center, along with the one located in Nauru Island, was established in

2001 as part of the Pacific Solution. Boatloads of undocumented refugees that arrived

in Australian territories were transferred and made to stay at the centers while their

claims of asylum were being processed.

Both centers, however, are embroiled in a controversy of illegal detention and various

other human rights abuses. Human rights groups claim the islands to be more like

detention centers rather than processing centers. Amnesty International even reports

that out of the 2,000 asylum seekers, only one person has been processed since 2012.

The camps are also notorious for their horrific living conditions.If we had died in the

ocean that would have been better, claims a 43-year-old Iraqi refugee. Amnesty

International states that the refugees bear with long hours in line for food, subsisting on

just 500 ml of water a day, and are made to live in sheds that house 112 people each.

There are even allegations of rape and child abuse happening in the islands.

Last year, things came to a distressing head. As detainees staged protests, things quickly

turned violent. The protest actions resulted in the death of 23-year-old Iranian Reza

Berati.

Protesters outside the Australian Prime Ministers office hold up pictures of slain Iranian,

Reza Berati. (Photo from News Corp Australia.)

Given such controversies and outrage, news outlet The Australian sees the deal with the

Philippines as a desperate move on the Australian governments part.

The deal reportedly happened at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly

in New York last September. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was allegedly given

verbal assurance by Albert Del Rosario, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, that the refugee

deal between the two countries was a go.

The deal is also supposedly backed by an inter-agency group on refugees consisting of

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and Secretary Del

Rosario. The deal is now in its final stages and is only awaiting the signature of President

Benigno Aquino, III. On September 8, PNoy issued a statement that the Philippines is

open to taking in refugees, but with some reservations.

The deal, however, is not without opposition. It has raised concerns about the

Philippines helping Australia avoid its obligations and opening up gateways for human

trafficking.

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