Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol since 1986. When acceding to the 1951 Convention, the PNG Government made reservations against seven of the Articles under the 1951 Convention. In 2013, the Government was advised by the UN Secretary General to remove the reservations on these articles. 

In 2013, the Government of Australia and the Government of PNG signed The Memorandum of Understanding Relating to the Transfer to, and Assessment and Settlement in, Papua New Guinea Of Certain Persons, and Related Issues. According to Article 10 of this Memorandum of Understanding,  an asylum seeker would be transferred from Australia to PNG for processing and detention purposes if they

“a. have travelled irregularly by sea to Australia;
or b. have been intercepted at sea by the Australian authorities in the course of trying to reach Australia by irregular means;
and c. are authorised by Australian law to be transferred to Papua New Guinea;
and d. have undergone a short health, security and identity check in Australia”.  

Accordingly, in 2021, the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and Global Detention Project noted that there were three categories of refugees in PNG:

“1. People who have been transferred to PNG by Australia as part of the 2013 Regional Resettlement Agreement between the Governments of Australia and PNG
2. West Papuan refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom have lived in PNG for more than three decades
3. A small group of refugees and asylum seekers who have arrived spontaneously in PNG.”

In addition to its obligations under the aforementioned international instruments, PNG is obligated to respect the international customary legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits any country from deporting any person to a country where they face the threat of persecution.

The Migration Act 1978 designates the Minister of Foreign Affairs as the authority “to determine a non-citizen to be a refugee” under section 15A. The UNHCR was previously involved in Refugee Status Determination processes in the country, currently, the Immigration and Citizenship Authority (ICA) officers process claims. The website of ICA can be consulted for more information.