Australia reserves 2,200 places for Syrian refugees

Australia will reserve more than 2,000 places in its refugee program for Syrians, at the same time as it tries to return Syrians held in offshore detention to the country the immigration minister describes as “in the midst of a terrible conflict”.

Syrian refugees will have 2,200 places set aside within the Special Humanitarian Program (SHP), which takes in refugees who can prove they already have a connection to Australia.

Scott Morrison also announced 2,200 places in the program would be set aside for Iraqis. The places are part of the government’s formal refugee intake of 13,750, which the Coalition reduced from 20,000 when it came to office last year.

Australia is holding Iraqis and Syrians who tried to reach Australia by boat in offshore detention centres and tried to send Syrians back to the country, despite claims by at least one that he faced certain death if returned.

Morrison said the commitment to set aside the places highlighted “the humanitarian dividend from the government’s successful border protection policies”.

“This government has made it very clear that priority in the humanitarian program should be for those waiting overseas and entering Australia under an orderly process,” he said in a statement released on Sunday.

The government also promised to take in at least 4,500 Syrian refugees over the next three years.

“With the continued violence in Iraq and Syria, the Australian government is dedicated to ensuring its humanitarian programme reaches those who need it most,” Morrison said.

Syrians on Manus Island have been told their details would be passed to the Syrian consulate if they returned and five Syrian men were split up in the Manus Island detention centre “to keep them quiet” earlier this year as the government tried to return them.

The SHP targets people with family already in Australia or who can prove strong links and support within the community. Morrison said of the 2,200 Syrian refugees who would come to Australia, some would be already “living in desperate conditions in countries such as Lebanon”.

Lebanon has more than 1.1 million registered Syrian refugees, mostly living in camps.

The SHP, which the government has set at about 4,000 places, receives more than 40,000 applications each year.

Morrison said the SHP had been “decimated” under Labor, which reduced it to 500 spots within its 20,000 refugee intake program.

“It was extremely disappointing that up to 4,000 applicants waiting in the queue missed out on places in this program, and that their places were being taken up by those who had arrived illegally by boat,” he said.

“The government’s policies under Operation Sovereign Borders have not only saved lives at sea, but also allowed more places to be returned to our humanitarian program for the world’s most desperate and vulnerable people.”

Morrison’s statement said the government had granted 1,050 visas for women at risk, predominantly from Afghanistan, as well as 1,800 Burmese refugees and 2,754 Afghans. All the places are within the humanitarian program, not in addition to the 13,750 places allocated to it.

Burmese refugees have been allocated 2,000 places in the coming year.

“Everyone who is accepted under the formal refugee and humanitarian program are subject to the appropriate checks. It is not simply a process of walking straight out of a camp and onto a plane. Issues, such as identity, health and security are all subject to assessment,” Morrison said.

“The program also endeavours to focus on those who have a network of support that can assist their resettlement, such as local church communities who have strong ethnic and cultural connections. This has proved particularly helpful for those being resettled from the Middle East and Burma.”