US Contractors to Question Refugees at Australia's Camp Before Resettlement

A team of contractors arrived to Australia's offshore detention camp on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to interview refugees in the center before resettlement of refugees to the United States as part of the Washington-Canberra agreement, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In January, New Zealand's media reported that interviews of refugees ahead of their resettlement would start in February.

The team of contractors arrived in the detention center and had already arranged the list of interviews with the migrants detained in the Australian facility, the ABC Online news outlet reported Tuesday.

The media outlet added that there would be about 20 interviews per day during a month.

Australia detains refugees who come to the country to seek asylum in offshore detention camps, while their application is being processed by the authorities. Such measures have been repeatedly criticized by different rights groups.

In November 2016, then-US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull concluded a one-time deal to resettle refugees, currently detained in Australian processing centers on the Manus Island and Nauru in the South Pacific.

However the agreement had been reportedly criticized by the incumbent US President Donald Trump and several media suggested that the deal could be terminated.