CONFIDENTIAL
INDOCHINA REFUGEES JAKARTA CONFERENCE
Australia supports ASEAN's proposal for an island processing centre. Ministers have agreed that Australia should support in principle a proposal that provides for the "warehousing" of pre-processed refugees who will not fit within current annual programs. This means in effect that the participating settlement countries will determine who enters the centre. It is of particular importance that this proposal depends on countries of first asylum continuing to accept refugees into their camps as at present. Our support for the centre is based on the view that, whatever proposal emerges, it should be seen by all involved in making an effective contribution to the problem. To do this we believe it will need to meet the following criteria:
(a) it should make a positive contribution to improving
the plight of the refugees;
(b)
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(c)
it should be of practical benefit to those countries granting first asylum;
it should not in any way reduce existing first asylum or resettlement opportunities for arriving refugees;
(a) it should not become a magnet for encouraging further
departures.
and