Tonga

UNHCR’s Representation in Canberra promotes refugee rights in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Six of these Pacific States are parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Pacific Island countries host more than 11,800 persons of concern, with the majority living in PNG and Fiji.

UNHCR supports Pacific Island countries through capacity building, technical advice on protection and solutions, and engages in refugee status determination under mandate or through joint procedures. Although the number of asylum seekers and refugees in the region is relatively small, the impact of any new arrivals is significant at both operational and policy levels due to other pressing priorities which constrain government resources to respond to asylum seeker, refugee and statelessness issues.