CODE 18-77
1015/10
Mr Hoare HK&G Dept
CONFIDENTIAL
PA
(247)
Reference
HKK243/
↑
AFISTIO
SIR P WALL'S PQ ON CLOSED CAMPS FOR VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1. I should like to suggest some amendments to the draft submission:-
Paragraph 2
2.
I would replace the second sentence by:-
'Subsequently our view has been passed to the Hong Kong Government outlining why we consider the Hong Kong
Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 1982 to place the United Kingdom in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and suggesting how the Ordinance might be amended in order to rectify this. Mr Burrows' minute of 24 September sets out the legal position more fully.'
Paragraphs 3 and 4
(212
-3. We discussed these last night and agreed that it would
probably be better to replace them by something much shorter, and on the following lines:-
4.
Badescus
Betong Kong Attorney General, Cut 3. We await the considered views of the Hong Kong Government. When these are known a further submission will be made. Until this has been done it would be premature to offer Sir P Wall a substantive reply to his question.'
If, however, on reflection you prefer to revert to something along the lines of the original paragraphs 3 and 4, which set out to describe the position a little more fully, and in particular to give an account of the current state of play in our discussions with the Hong Kong Government I would suggest that the first three sentences of your paragraph 3 be replaced by something on the following lines:-
'The Hong Kong Government have not yet formally responded. However we understand that while they would prefer to accord with human rights instruments, their prime concern is to preserve the main original purpose of the legislation. This is to impose a harsh régime on refugees in these closed camps, and thus to deter further Vietnamese refugees from coming to Hong Kong. They are in fact prison camps, and the refugees are subjected to the particularly severe prison rules which are used in Hong Kong's normal prisons and whose application to refugees has already been the subject of a strong complaint by Justice.
During an informal discussion with the Attorney General of
/Hong Kong
CONFIDENTIAL