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Unclassified
R Margolis Esq
Do we have an pepes
on this?
Wal
dowe AF13 || Rokpt. (Vietnamese
Refuges).
Your reference
Qur reference
9 July 1982
Political Adviser HONG KONG
Hkk 243
RECEIVED '1 250MRY NO. 51 Date
"3
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
Dear Richard
RESCUE AT SEA: HONG KONG
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CSE AF 1912
19/2
1. A Working Group met for a three day session in Geneva this week to study the many aspects of the rescue of asylum seekers at sea. The meeting was arranged by UNHCR and the UK was represented by John Siddle, who will be writing a report on the session, and myself.
2. During the discussion the Danish Delegate, Mr M Bendix from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, raised the question as to whether disembarkation of rescued asylum seekers should be limited to the next scheduled port of call. He drew attention to a recent case where some asylum seekers had been refused permission. to disembark at an intermediate port, Hong Kong, despite the fact that resettlement guarantees had been available. He did not go into the detail of the case except to say that guarantees had been given by Denmark but that they had been told that the asylum- seekers could land only if they flew to Copenhagen the same day. Mr Bendix said that this could not be arranged and the Hong Kong response, therefore, was an inhumane reaction to what was a difficult and urgent humanitarian problem. In addition, the Hong Kong authorities had indicated that they would penalise the shipping company if the ship entered Hong Kong on the grounds that it had failed to give the required notice of a change of itinerary.
3. Without knowing the facts of the case we did not feel able to respond to these comments during the discussion but we spoke to Mr Bendix during one of the breaks. He said that he did not expect a response and was not making a specific complaint but wished. to use this example to emphasise one of the problems of disembarking asylum seekers.
4. The criticism that Hong Kong had refused to admit asylum seekers rescued at sea on the grounds that Hong Kong was neither the first port of call nor a scheduled stop for the ship was not taken up by any other speakers. The Japanese was the only delegate to mention the case and he said that he quite understood the stance Hong Kong
Japan would do likewise in a similar situation.
! | had taken.
5. I spoke later to Mr Klaus Feldmann, the Chief of the Resettlement Section in UNHCR, about the matter. He gave me the enclosed UNHCR cables which show that the vessel in question was the "Dinna Skol" bound for Tsingtau and that it had picked up seven Vietnamese at
sea.
/6.