BACKGROUND INFORMATION SHEET
AGENDA ITEM 3.1
REFUGEES FROM IRIAN JAYA IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
During the early months of the settlement of increasing numbers of Irian Jayan refugees in Papua New Guinea, February - November 1984, there was a slow reaction concerning the responsibility of a host country towards incoming refugees. However the situation is now improved; it is now established that the UNHCR Liason Officer interviews all those who ask to be repatriated to Irian Jaya, to safeguard the voluntary nature of the exercise. To date the UNHCR Liason Officer has interviewed and officially witnessed the repatriation of three groups of refugees.
The policy of the Government of Papua New Guinea in regard to the local
resettlement or resettlement in a third country of remaining refugees is not as yet clarified. Both as part of ensuring the voluntary nature of the repatriation activities, and to clarify the resttlement/repatriation issue, it is felt that identification of those refugees who are villagers/subsistence farmers (some of whom may have been traditional border-crossers) as distinct from those refugees with a political profile is to be encouraged.
With regard to British Voluntary Agencies in the field in Papua New Guinea: the British Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) currently has some 71 volunteers in Papua New Guinea - none of whom are at present involved in the Refugee Assistance Program. The Save the Children Fund U.K. have worked in Papua New Guinea since 1972 establishing Nutrition Extension Programs and appropriate training. For the last three years, SCF staff, consisting of a Nutrition Planner within the Department of Primary Industry and 3 Regional Nutritionists within Papua New Guinean Associates have assisted the 20 Provincial Governments to identify and design rural development projects for those areas of the country where the food system areas of the country is stressed. SCF's contribution to the Refugee Assistance Program has been to survey the Nutritional status of the appropriate feeding programs. Together with the Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society, SCF are now recruiting a 4 person Primary Health Care Team for the camps, which will include the daily supervision of the feeding programs, and maintenance of the Immunization and TB Treatment programs.
There are regular consultations between the UNHCR and Voluntary Agencies involved in the Refugee Assistance Program, and additional meetings to co-ordinate activities under the auspices of the Committee for International Relations of the PNG Red Cross. This provides the oppurtunity
for the exchange
of up-to-date information on the border camps, which is then made available to agencies' respective Headquarters. In regard to the specific issue of voluntary repatriation, further information is available from the Public Information Office, UNHCR, Geneva.
It is believed that there are at present approximately 12,000 camp residents in West Sepik and Western Province. Approximatley 50% of this number are children and just over 60% are female.
British Refugee Council
9 September 1985
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