ith HKK 243/422
With
Mes
Mr Blaker
Laker
12/6.
сс
Mr Fogarty
Mr Hurrell
Mr Ashton Mr Fry
UNITED KINGDOM CONTRIBUTION TO THE FUNDS OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR)
I understand that you are to go to Geneva this week to pursue with
the UNHCR the Prime Minister's proposal for an international
conference about Vietnamese refugees and to try to persuade the
UNHCR to accept responsibility for more of the refugees in Hong Kong;
and that you would like to be in a position to offer, from aid funds,
an additional contribution of around £1 million to the UNHCR's
budget for 1979.
These savings
Following the cut of £50 million in the Aid Programme, which was
already over-committed, I am looking for savings of around £100 million to reconstitute a contingencies reserve. will take 2-3 weeks to indentify. Meanwhile, there are no funds
available to meet new commitments. I would, therefore, prefer to
defer consideration of an additional contribution to the UNHCR's
budget until I can see what contingency funds may be available
particularly bearing in mind that there are other potential claims for expenditure on refugees.
A
for.
Китен
NEIL MARTEN
(Approved by Mr Marten
and signed in his absence)
12 June 1979