Officials at the Ministry of Interior are reviewing legal documents for the first batch of refugees to be resettled here from an encampment on the Pacific island of Nauru in a controversial deal with Australia.
Four refugees—three Iranians and one Rohngya, from Burma—have agreed to be resettled in Cambodia, but officials say they must review their cases before they make a final decision.
Cambodia has signed an agreement with Australia to accept 1,000 refugees, in exchange for $30 million in assistance—a deal rights workers say runs counter to the spirit of international laws for refugees. Australia has refused to accept the refugees.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said two ministry officials had returned from Nauru late Monday with legal files for the four prospective resettlement cases.
Those files will be reviewed before a decision is made on their resettlement, he said, adding, “It is another step forward.”