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(v) He also made the point that in any proposals to the Home Office, they should be quite clear in advance of the full implications of numbers of the categories they were recommending: ie if ''vulnerable groups' included unaccompanied minors, some estimate of subsequent family reunion applications would have to be included. In the circumstances, he and Lord Ennals, in discussion with officials in Hong Kong (including UNHCR) had focussed on the possible numbers who might be included in any relaxation of family reunion criteria. They had come up with 584 with close relations in the United Kingdom. Lord Ennals subsequently commented that they would not want to bid with the Home Office for all of these, and might ask for say 150. The Committee also agreed that proposals should be detailed and include not only likely costs but also individual case histories rather than blank 'quotas. Sir Arthur Peterson (Chairman of BRC), who was also at the meeting, pointed out that any detailed proposals of this kind would have to be considered by their Executive Committee (which I understand will sit only after the call on Mr Luce). But it is useful to know at this stage what BRC have in mind to put to the Home Office.
(vi) There was some sharp discussion about the closed camp conditions. Dr Barber was critical of the segregated ''Cape Collinson'' camp; of the separation of husbands and wives; of the use of the correctional services department officials to run the camps; and the low level of voluntary agency activity, too much of which in any case was evangical rather than educational. Helen Yu of HKGO gave as good as she got as usual (she really is a very impressive operator) and it was interesting that both Lord Ennals, who said the UK was ill-placed to be critical of closed camp policy because it was an inevitable consequence of our own policy decisions, and Sir Arthur Peterson who commented favourably from his own experience of the Hong Kong correctional services department staff, were both quite understanding over the closed camp issue. However, a Mr Copeland of Oxfam became quite sharp and asked for it to be recorded in the minutes (which we shall see in due course) that he was dissatisfied with the level of discussion of closed camp conditions, strongly disapproved of the use of correctional services department staff as indeed he did of Sir Arthur Peterson's comments on their behalf, and wanted to ensure that these points were raised when the group from the Committee call on Mr Luce.
4 One additional point on closed camps:
One of the VOLAG representatives mentioned that a TV channel (it was thought, channel 4) was preparing a programme on closed camps in collaboration with UNHCR for transmission next month. Ile thought UNHCR were trying to tone parts of it down. Even so, we may well be in for the same flurry of public debate as followed recent World in Action programmes about UN assistance on the Thai/Cambodian border and on the Thai/UNHCR anti-piracy programme.
21 December 1983
сс
Mr Newton, SEAD Mr Peate, UND
Chyhegar.
CM J Segar
South East Asian Department W86A 233 5073
M. Hoare
2
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to ik?
:
Q23/12
Any Kong before brief 23/12
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