PNG MP plays down Indonesia-PNG extradition treaty

A Papua New Guinea MP says there's no reason for West Papuan refugees to fear for their safety after the country ratified an extradition treaty with Indonesia.

The attorney general, Ano Pala, says the treaty is important as criminals have been using the porous border between the two countries for smuggling and other illegal activities.

However, some MPs warned that Indonesia might use the treaty to target some of the thousands of refugees from West Papua.

One of those MPs is former attorney general Kerenga Kua, but he says parliament agreed to add a mechanism to protect them.

"Those provisions have been written into the treaty to exclude the application of the treaty to people who are seeking political asylum in Papua New Guinea and to make it clear that the treaty only applies to criminals who have broken the laws of one country and are escaping into the other."