Cambodia has signed a deal with Australia to take refugees rejected by Canberra in exchange for money.<br /><br />The accord was sealed in Phnom Penh by Australia’s Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Cambodia’s Interior Minister Sar Kheng.<br /><br />Canberra will give Cambodia an additional 27 million euros worth of aid over four years as well as pay resettlement costs.<br /><br />Human rights and aid groups have called the accord “shameful”, saying the southeast Asian country is an impoverished nation with a terrible record on protecting refugees. <br /><br />Australia’s conservative government came to power promising to “stop the boats” carrying migrants, mostly from Indonesia.<br /><br />It now says the accord will enable it to fulfil its policy whereby no-one will be resettled in Australia.<br /><br />According to the government only volunteers who are genuine refugees currently being held at a processing centre on the Pacific island of Nauru will be sent to Cambodia.<br /><br />The deal sparked a small but boisterous protest outside the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh.<br /><br />Demonstrators questioned the deal’s transparency, and asked why a rich country was passing on such a burden to a poor one.<br /><br />Both countries say they have agreed on a trial arrangement with a small number of refugees.
