CONFIDENTIAL
CALL BY MR HARTLING, UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, 14 APRIL
ESSENTIAL FACTS
UNHCR
1. Hartling a former Foreign Minister (1968-71) and
Prime Minister of Denmark (1973-74). UN High Commissioner
for Refugees since December 1977. Reappointed by last
General Assembly for three years. Aged 69. The Office of
UNHCR (not Hartling individually) was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1982.
UNHCR MANDATE AND PROGRAMMES
2.
UNHCR will spend more than US$300m this year. Main relief
programmes are in Pakistan ($78m), Somalia ($41m), Sudan ($24m)
and Thailand ($26m). Contributions are voluntary. After the
United States, Britain is the second largest contributor,
giving a total last year of more than £12m. We gave £5.4m
direct to the General Programme (£3m as food aid, not cash) and
£2.1m to special appeals, including Afghan refugees in Pakistan,
the Vietnam Orderly Departure Programme, Somalia, Sudan, Ugandans
in Zaire and Central American refugees. Britain's share of
the European Community contribution to UNHCR is about 20%,
exceeding £5m last year.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
3. Over 12,000. Up on last year. Most in UNHCR centres; less than one-third in the closed camps established by Hong Kong last
year. Most new arrivals are Vietnamese, rather than ethnic Chinese
as before, and include many from North Vietnam. There are demands
in Hong Kong to reclassify boat people as illegal immigrants and
to introduce forcible repatriation to discourage new arrivals.
Hong Kong say 90% of applications for resettlement in the
United States are rejected on the grounds of being economic
migrants rather than refugees. Vietnam's human rights record
makes forcible repatriation unacceptable to us. Hartling wrote
/to us (and other
CONFIDENT I AL