TURDINIVIEW
United Kingdom Mission
1
37-39 rue de Vermont 121 Geneva 2
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I C Orr Esq
Assistant Political Adviser HONG KONG
H.KK 2
4
2
4 JUL 1980
DESK OFF.CER
RES RY
INDEX
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1 July 1980
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
1. Thank you for your letters of 6, 19 and 23 June. We are grateful for being kept informed of developments (or the lack of them) and arguments which we can use with UNHCR. We will continue to do all we can to stress with UNHCR the urgency of resettlement from Hong Kong. We do, however, have to be care- ful that too much pressure does not become counter-productive. The Resettlement Section, who labour under enormous strains and pressures, were clearly irritated to receive parallel demarches from the UNHCR Representative and from ourselves more or less simultaneously (our telegram no 7). If we over-do it UNHCR are likely to remind us (and they do) of the slowness of resettle- ment in the UK, the lack of a new UK quota and your somewhat rigid approach over repatriation to China. Terlin ought, however, to be able to answer your enquiries about UNHCR cont- acts with resettlement countries.
2. Whilst UNHCR do appreciate that too liberal an approach will attract Vietnamese refugees from China, the whole ethos of protection, for which purpose UNHCR was in fact originally founded, rests on the principle that repatriation shall be voluntary. Hence the extraordinary bureaucratic measures that UNHCR have taken in recent days to ensure that the repatriation of refugees in Thailand to Cambodia was entirely voluntary. Of course, there is an important difference between repatria- tion to countries of origin and to countries of first asylum where there is no "well-founded fear of persecution". Even so the idea goes against the grain for the old hands of the UNHCR Protection Division. They see their role vis à vis the UNHCR Representative in a country and Missions in Geneva in much the same way as the FCO is to posts abroad and embassies in London. They send instructions and offer advice on matters of concern to the Representatives and you can rest assured that they will not intervene (paragraph 3 of your letter of 19 June) if they are satisfied that the interests of the refugees are being fully safeguarded. They have too many other urgent protection problems around the world.
K O'Sullivan Esq UND (B) ODA ccs: T C S Stitt Esq SEAD FCO
P J Williamson Esq HKGD FCO Mrs C Anderson UND FCO K Sullivan Esq PEKING
DR Snoxell