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the British voluntary agencies have always been unsparing in their efforts. So far this year they have contributed nearly $500,000 to UNHCR but the help they give is far more than financial. Nearly all belong to the Standing Conference on Refugees which is represented at this meeting and which has done outstanding work both in the UK and abroad.
There are so many tragic refugee problems afflicting the world that it is hard to single out any special cases. But I should just like to mention two. First the appalling tragedy of the Vietnamese "boat refugees"; I would like to lay great emphasis, as did the High Commissioner yesterday, on a principle which appears to be being eroded that countries of first scheduled ports of call for ships which have picked up refugees at sea should allow those refugees to land against the assurance by UNHCR that in due course they will be settled in other countries. I take the opportunity of emphasising how important it is to constantly remind governments and ship owners of their obligations to assist "boat people" in accordance with international agreements relating to rescue at sea. There have been a number of incidents where this has not happened. My Government's policy in this field is well illustrated by the news which many of you may have heard today that the UK has agreed to accept some 350"boat people" who were picked up by a British ship in the South China sea in accordance with British legislation of which British masters were recently reminded. This action has been taken because the authorities of the next port of call declined to accept the British guarantee that the UK would, if necessary, settle the refugees within three months and these authorities refused even to allow disembarkation. I am most grateful for the co-operation of UNHCR and ICEM in arranging for these people to be brought to the UK.
In this context I would also like to draw attention to the special problem faced by Hong Kong which has an excellent record in accepting refugees from ships whose first port of call is Hong Kong and refugees arriving in their own craft, despite its terrible overcrowding. This small territory has seen its population grow from half a million to 4 million in the last thirty years. There were over 4,000 refugees there as of last month, over 3,700 of whom arrived in the previous 3 months. UNHCR are working hard in conjunction with the Hong Kong authorities in arranging for resettlement. I hope, however, that other governments will continue
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