Cambodia: Refugee deal with Australia close

Cambodia hopes to sign a controversial refugee resettlement deal with Australia within weeks.

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (center r) speaks to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop during a meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on February 22, 2014. (AAP)

The Cambodian government says a working group has completed a study on Australia's proposal and will reply in the coming days.

Secretary of state in the foreign ministry, Ouch Borith, told ABC radio that Cambodia is hoping to sign a memorandum of understanding with Australia "as soon as possible" - hopefully within weeks.

Mr Borith refused to reveal how many refugees the country would take in, or how much it would cost the Australian government.

Human rights groups are concerned about using Cambodia to resettle refugees.

Amnesty International says Cambodia is still struggling to protect the rights of its own citizens.

Australian Greens Immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young says the Abbott government is seeking to take advantage of one of the poorest nations in our region.

She says she is worried about sending refugees to a nation with a questionable human rights record.

"This is a government that carries out canings, whippings and electric shock torture. How does Tony Abbott justify sending young female refugees, families, men and women into that circumstance?"


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Source: SBS, AAP


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