But advocates have said that conditions could prove difficult for refugees in Papua New Guinea, which has one of the world’s highest crime rates. Its capital, Port Moresby, has high unemployment and is often ranked in surveys as one of the world’s least livable cities.

Rimbink Pato, Papua New Guinea’s minister of foreign affairs and immigration, said in a statement this week that the resettlement policy had taken time to develop. “It is crucial that we get this right,” he said, adding, “Settlement of refugees is not easy, and we have to ensure refugees are not competing for employment and income-earning opportunities with our citizens.”

Australia has made previous attempts to resettle offshore detainees in other countries, with little success. It spent $29 million on a plan to send some to Cambodia, but just four have moved there over the past year. Australia’s highest court recently heard a challenge to its asylum-seeker policies, brought on behalf of detainees who went to Australia for medical treatment. The court has yet to issue a ruling.

The case of a Somali refugee whose lawyers say she was raped on Nauru has heightened public criticism of the offshore detention policy. The woman was brought to Australia this month after her lawyers said she wanted an abortion, but she was flown back to Nauru without having her pregnancy terminated.