'E.R.
CONFIDENTIAL
Mr McDowall
83B
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REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM
APPEAL BY UNHCR
1.
I have renumbered and repositioned the documents on this file to make it clear that when I sent Mr Woodfield my minute of today's date I had not seen the telegram from UNHCR, asking HMG to admit a quota of refugees from Vietnam.
838/4/ that tkr minute of I not me
2.
I have looked at the draft submission to the Minister of State, which you prepared so promptly, but I think that it would be premature to make a submission on the basis of that draft.
3. I think that what is necessary is for B1 to consider in consultation with the FCO what response we ought to give to the UNHCR's appeal, and that it would be premature to do this until we and the FCO are much clearer about the outcome of plans for finding refuge for the 4,500 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong. Depending on how many refugees can be found homes in third countries, we may already have a bigger commitment than we would willingly accept.
Of course, if you and the FCO see no objection the UNHCR can be informed, as a holding reply, of what the Home Secretary said in Parliament on 8 May; but I think it would be premature to go beyond this until we know what numbers of refugees we may be already committed to both in respect of Hong Kong and in consequence of our willingness to accept people with a connection or tie with the United Kingdom, together with the other cate- gories set out in your draft submission.
4. Subject to this, I quite agree with you that when we do reply to UNHCR we should follow our traditional line of not accepting a stated quota, but of being prepared to look sympathetically at applications from people for whom the United Kingdom is the natural country of refuge, because of some previous connection or tie, and who are personally acceptable, and who are sponsored by a responsible organisation here.
5.
If you agree, please initiate consultations with the FCO: there is no harm in letting them know in confidence the lines on which we have advised the Home Secretary to reply to Mr Callaghan's minute of 13 May.
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T FITZGERALD
14 May 1975
CONFIDENTIAL