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13.
THE CASELOAD AND PROBLEMS
These consultations are to address the problems of three groups of concern to UNHCR: first, the some 195,000 persons who arrived overland in Thailand since early summer 1975, of whom over 130,000 remain in that country; second, the some 150,000 persons who arrived overland in Viet Nam; and third, the some 85,000 persons who have taken to the high seas since mid-1975 of whom over 40,000 await durable solutions. In this Note the first and second groups are referred to as "land cases" and the third as "boat cases". Details of their problems are contained in the High Commissioner's reports to the Executive Committee and the General Assembly. A summary of the situation is given below. (Statisticel information as of 30 November 1978 will be provided at the consultations.)
Land cases:
Thailand
14. The first agreement between the Government of Thailand and UNHCR for material assistance was concluded in July 1975. There were then approximately 40,000 recently arrived Indo-Chinese in Thailand. The subsequent developments may be seen from this table:
Land cases
1975
1976
1977
1978 to 31 Oct.
Cumulative
total
Arrivals
77,169
32,931
31,214
51,378
192,692
Departures
12,755
22,859
10,936
17,271
63,821
Remaining
caseload
64,414-***
74,486
94,764
128,871
Of the 128,871 remaining persons who arrived by land, 112,962 came from the Lao People's Democratic Republic, 14,765 from Democratic Kampuchea and 1,144 from Viet Nam.
(Details of the additional 11,834 persons who arrived by sea, of whom 2,541 remain, are given in paragraph 19.)
Two
15. The continuing influx has placed a severe strain on the authorities. centres alone now contain over 70,000 persons (Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchatani). Durable solutions have fallen far short of the needs of the situation. Voluntary repatriation has not provided the answer except for a few. In an important development the Thai Government has recently agreed to elaborate a pilot-project for a self-sufficiency programme to benefit both the displaced persons and the Thai rural population. Hitherto only resettlement in third countries has
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