CONFIDENTIAL
United Kingdom Mission
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CM J Segar Esq
South East Asian Department
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UN 243/5
Your reference
Our reference
Date
2 July 1982
61-7
its
53
See (148
Dear tegar,
HONG KONG:
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1. UNHCR headquarters have followed with interest recent develop- ments in Hong Kong: papers resting with Hong Kong Telno 706
2. I had lunch on 2 July with Ivor Jackson, the British (?Anglo- Indian) Deputy Director of Protection, i.e. No 2 on the legal side. The Protection Division of UNHCR are the custodians of the sacred principle of non-refoulement, i.e. that refugees must never be sent home against their will. Jackson showed me a copy of a letter to Mrs Lasan of UNHCR from the Hong Kong Government about the new legislation. What worried him most was the fact that it included powers to remove people from Hong Kong. He said that Mrs Lasan had reported that she had been told that the Hong Kong Government were taking these powers primarily as a gesture for internal political digestion. Nevertheless, it worried UNHCR.
With your Telno 455 in mind, I said that though "involuntary repatriation" was considered from time to time as possible in theory, it was clearly understood in Whitehall that it would be quite unacceptable in Parliament. Jackson was visibly relieved. I wondered whether he would prefer me to say that it was out as being anathema from the point of view of UNHCR and against international law: but he was even happier with the line that it would be unacceptable to Parliament.
3. Jackson said that Mrs Lasan had recently reported that she understood it to be the intention of the Government of Hong Kong to ignore the pushing off of boatloads of refugees from Vietnam, but this seemed to have blown over. I said we had heard nothing about it.
4.
I enclose a copy of a cutting from yesterday's International Herald Tribune in case you have not seen it. In return, could I ask you to let us have a copy of Hong Kong Telno 699 referred to in Hong Kong Telno 706? We considered commenting from here on Hong Kong Telno 618: but your Telno 455 and Hanoi Telno 138 fully meet the UNHCR point of view.
Cc:
45
R Godfrey Esq, UND, FCO
RP Margolis Eq, PA, Hong Kong Chancery, Hanc
46
Christopher Log
C W Long
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