CONFIDENTIAL
BRIEF NO 4: PROCESSING CENTRES/TRANSIT CENTRES
POINTS TO MAKE
Island Processing Centres (ASEAN)
1. The Indonesian and Philippine offers of small islands are welcome. But their proposed capacity will not make a marked difference if the flow continues at present levels. They should be available to all Indo-China refugees.
Transit Centres
2. [If suggested by others] Centres capable of handling say 100,000 refugees are more difficult and expensive to set up, but would make
a greater contribution than small centres. They would need to be able to provide reasonable conditions for fairly lengthy stays, awaiting
final places.
Centres in Vietnam
3. This is a dangerous idea, in view of the power it can give the Vietnamese authorities to manipulate the camps and access to them. It could also be a source of foreign exchange. Trensit centres are a better idea. Any scheme which we are associated with must ensure that those who wish to leave can do so of their own free will, and that those who wish to stay are not forced to leave. The risk of centres in Vietnam becoming concentration camps run by the UNHCR must not be overlooked: we would need to establish impartial and foolproof monitoring procedures to ensure that our humanitarian aims are not perverted.
CONFIDENTIAL