UN General Assembly
1984

339. Although we are under no legal obligation to do so, my Government will treat people who meet the normal international requirements as refugees. We hope that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as members of the General Assembly, will be able to help us find them permanent homes. But let me make it clear that the responsibility for deciding who can remain in Papua New Guinea belongs to the appropriate authorities in my country. Border-crossers who do not qualify for refugee status in the normal way will be expected to return to their homes in Indonesia. The people and Government of my country cannot afford to keep them. They have no real right to stay. But let me add that we are sensitive to the need for them to be given certain assurances about their safety, well-being and reintegration before they go back.