Manus Island Regional Processing Centre. Photo Courtesy of The Gurdian

Source: Post Courier

Papua New Guinea has granted refugee status to 30 additional asylum seekers at the Manus asylum centre, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato announced on Monday. Mr Pato who met with Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, said this brings to 80 the number of asylum seekers who were now being processed and would be resetlled in PNG when all documentations were in place.

"Once a policy in the resttlement processes has been finalised by a group of eminent persons, it is quite clear that a tranistion towards resettlement has commenced," Mr Pato said.

"Nine of the 80 asylum seekers were considered genuine refugees for the purpose of resettlement in PNG, they have left the processing centre and they've moved onto the East Lorengau transit centre, awaiting the final decision on the policy for resettlement in different parts of PNG." he said.

"In relations to those who have been determined as persons not eligible for settlement or a found not to be genuine where two men have agreed to leave PNG. However, 80 of the genuine refugees have sought the review of the decision. As soon as the review decision comes down, we will have them removed under the arrangements we have with the Australian Government."

He made it clear that the Australian Government would be expected to shoulder costs associated with those resettlements. Australia had promised support but Mr Dutton said it was a domestic matter for PNG.

An asylum seeker is a person who fled from thier country but is not accepted yet as a refugee. Refugees and asylum seekers are different. The decision wheather a person is a refugee or not is most often left to certain government agencies within the host country. If a person comes to a country to seek asylum, thier refugee status will then be assessed. The government decides whether the person is in danger, or if they are just trying to come to that country for free.