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Four Nations Talking Over Plight of Afghan Refugees
GENEVA, Sept 1 (News Agencies) - Representatives of Australia, Norway, Indonesia and New Zealand held talks Saturday at the UNHCR in Geneva on the plight of Afghan refugees stranded on a boat in Australian territory.
The meeting heard details of an Australian plan to provide assistance to the refugees, but delegates still had "questions on crucial elements," a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.
Australia, which has refused to take in the refugees, proposed a plan under which New Zealand and the Pacific island state of Nauru would accept the 438 refugees stranded on a Norwegian freighter off Australia's tiny Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
For the time being, the UNHCR felt its own plan - under which the refugees would be allowed to land on Christmas Island - was "the most logical and the most humane" because it would bring a swift end to the human drama, the spokesman said.
The UNHCR proposed that after disembarking, each of the refugees' cases would be examined separately before they were transferred to a third country.
But the spokesman said the countries involved in the talks were still considering Australia's plan along with other proposals.
The UNHCR asked in a statement that all measures taken to resolve this complex and difficult situation should be humanitarian and conform to international law protecting refugees.
"Australia has assured us that it is aware of its responsibility," added the UNHCR.
Australia's face-saving deal, however, was later thrown into doubt when an Australian Federal court issued an injunction preventing the ship from leaving Australian waters pending a ruling on whether the refugees should be allowed to land in Australia.
The UNHCR spokesman also said that taking the refugees to Nauru, more than 6,000 kilometers (3,750 miles) away, would be problematic.
The accord foresees that around 150 refugees, mainly women and children, would be taken in by New Zealand, and 300 others would be taken to Nauru, where their requests for asylum would be assessed.
The refugees have been stranded on the Norwegian freighter Tampa since last Sunday, when they were rescued from a sinking Indonesian vessel.
In Oslo, Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland accused Australia of undermining U.N. conventions on refugees by its refusal to take in the Afghan asylum seekers, and said he had summoned Canberra's envoy in Oslo to make a protest.
"It is difficult to understand how a country like Australia can act in this way and destroy its reputation in the international community," Jagland told the Norwegian NRK radio station.
"Australia's uncompromising attitude over the refugees aboard the Norwegian vessel Tampa is undermining U.N. conventions on the treatment of refugees," he said.
The foreign minister said he had summoned Australia's ambassador to Norway to "protest the fact that the Norwegian ship has not been given the right to land on Australian territory, a move which goes against international maritime law."
"We have also protested over the fact that the Norwegian captain has not been given the right to consult his lawyer," added Jagland, quoted by the Norwegian NTB press agency.
The foreign minister's comments came as representatives of Australia, Norway, Indonesia and New Zealand ended talks Saturday at the UNHCR without finding an agreement over the plight of the Afghans.
"We do not yet know whether further discussions will be held," said Jagland, adding: "we will not back a solution which undermines U.N. conventions."
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