4.2
AFGHAN REFUGEES IN PAKISTAN
The Chairman had also spent several days in Peshawar visiting the Afghan refugee camps. His impression was that there were not many changes since the previous year, except that the camps were now looking more permanent. In particular, he had been visiting an Ockennden Venture quilt-making project which was going extremely well and now employing 3,400 women and a kindergarten for their children was in the process of being built. It was noted that it was disturbint that refugees were continuing to arrive. A recent census by the Pakistan Government estimated that there were now 2.3 million Afghan refugees in the camps.
Peter Shelley (Save the Children Fund) reported that SCF had an extensive Primary Health Care programme in the camps which was training refuges in health care which was also going remarkably well.
It was noted that the Pakistan Government now seemed to be much more willing to work with voluntary agencies and that the Saudi Red Crescent and other Muslim organisations were active there.
5. REFUGEES FROM IRIAN JAYA IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
CARMEL BUDIARDJO (TAPOL) had joined the meeting for this item.
She reported that a statement made by the new Wingti Government in Papua New Guinea indicated that the new government would be more sympathetic to the refugees and had made a statement that refugees would not be deported agains their wills. however, other statements made by other senior officials did shed some doubt on this policy. The government had decided to become a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees and that UNHCR would be involved in the process of determining which refugees should be allowed to remain in the
country.
She referred to several statements made by the government which included that: (a) all the camps along the border would be relocated further into Papua New Guinea; (b) anyone defined as a political refugee would be given temporary residence in a defined place in PNG until a third country was found for resettlement. She noted that the extradition treaty between the two countries had made the refugees feel particularly insecure.
in
a
She was particularly concerned about reports that had been reported the press about three instances of repatriation of refugees since February. It appeared that about 250 had gone back on these occasions. All the repatriated refugees had been resettled in sites that are under Indonesian Government control. It appeared that the refugees had three 'choices'
choices', to enter a 'nucleus estate project', 'transmigration site' or a relocation site under the control of the Department of Social Affairs. When these recent repatriations had occured both PNG and Indonesian officials had stressed that these were the first of a series that would take place on a regular basis. While these repatriations were said to have taken place with the consent of
refugees, it was not clear how their willingness to return had been determined, nor whether they were clearly aware of what they would be returned to in terms of the sites mentioned. As