August, for the first time, more left Vietnam by 'orderly' than by
'illegal' means.
Recent developments
A 7. My submission of 30 June recommended that UKMIS Geneva should
seek UNHCR's views on the chances of securing guarantees from the Vietnamese that returning boat people would not be punished.
If UNHCR felt that they would be subject to persecution on return,
they should be urged to state formally that all boat people must be
classified as refugees. Mr Hartling thought (UKMIS Telno 308) that
the Vietnamese position might be softening but that it would be counterproductive to seek formal assurances now. He did not,
however, wish to make a public statement to the effect that all boat
people leaving Vietnam should be treated as refugees lest this
frustrate the evolution he is hoping for within Vietnam.
B
C
The Honolulu Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees (1-3 August 1983)
8. This was organised by the US State Department, and was attended
by Ministers from the US, Canada, Australia and Japan and by UNHCR
observers. France was invited but did not attend. The UK also did
not attend: we received a very last minute invitation, and did not
feel that our presence would have been appropriate at a conference
which was essentially for resettlement states. We have received
mixed reports of the Conference. The Hong Kong Government heard
that little had been achieved, whereas US Ambassador Douglas, the
Conference organiser, described it as a "roaring success". The
press statement issued at the end of the conference said inter alia
that the participants had restated their commitment to first asylum
countries to help solve the problem through resettlement until such
time as a humane and lasting solution was achieved. They also agreed that a long term solution would require the implementation of a mix of policies. Voluntary repatriation in particular was
mentioned.