CANBERRA: Australia came under fire from the U.N. children's aid agency and human rights advocates Friday over its plan to send unaccompanied child asylum seekers to Malaysia under a refugee swap deal being negotiated with the Southeast Asian nation.
Australia wants to deter asylum seekers from traveling to the continent by boat by sending hundreds of new arrivals to Malaysia.
The Malaysian government has reached an in-principle agreement to take 800 off Australian hands in return for Australia resettling 4,000 registered refugees from among more than 90,000 languishing in Malaysia.
Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen confirmed that the 800 will include vulnerable children who make the perilous boat journey to Australia without parents or adult guardians.
"I don't want unaccompanied minors. I don't want children getting on boats to come to Australia thinking or knowing that there is some sort of exemption in place," Bowen told Australian Broadcasting Corp television late Thursday.
UNICEF Australia chief executive Norman Gillespie said his agency had been seeking assurances from the government that children would not be sent to Malaysia and was "dismayed and shocked" by Bowen's announcement.
Australia wants to deter asylum seekers from traveling to the continent by boat by sending hundreds of new arrivals to Malaysia.
The Malaysian government has reached an in-principle agreement to take 800 off Australian hands in return for Australia resettling 4,000 registered refugees from among more than 90,000 languishing in Malaysia.
Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen confirmed that the 800 will include vulnerable children who make the perilous boat journey to Australia without parents or adult guardians.
"I don't want unaccompanied minors. I don't want children getting on boats to come to Australia thinking or knowing that there is some sort of exemption in place," Bowen told Australian Broadcasting Corp television late Thursday.
UNICEF Australia chief executive Norman Gillespie said his agency had been seeking assurances from the government that children would not be sent to Malaysia and was "dismayed and shocked" by Bowen's announcement.
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