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the UNHCR's letter prior to the latter's departure for South East Asia and Japan at the end of August. Douglas himself planned to come
to London in early October, before the EXCOM in Geneva, at which there
would be contact with the Vietnamese. (Purcell will attend the latter
for the US.) The UNHCR would then produce his report in time for
a further meeting of the resettlement countries which would take place,
probably in Tokyo, next December or January. He hoped very much
that we and the French would attend.
3. Douglas said that the Honolulu meeting devoted much discussion to
voluntary repatriation as an element which wouldhave to play a larger
role in the future. In recent years, the concept of repatriation
had become morally tainted, but it was necessary to rehabilitate
it as an implement suitable for use in certain circumstances. It could
be applicable not only in South East Asia but also in Pakistan, possibly
East Africa and elsewhere. The US could not commit itself to repatriation
without stringent guarantees to ensure the monitoring of conditions
of repatriants. But neither, politically speaking, could the US
participate indefinitely in a resettlement programme unless it could
show American public opinion that other ways of solving the problem
were being fully utilised. A voluntary repatriation programme
would also need to be accompanied by a major international programme
of aid for the repatriated communities, and in the case of Indochina
this could only be managed via the UNHCR because of the political
considerations for governments in dealing directly with Vietnamese-
It would take time to gain acceptance of
occupied Cambodia.
these ideas, and work out the necessary agreements. The current
programme for Laos could provide useful precedents and experience. 4. Turning to Hong Kong, Douglas repeated that he thought a more
forthcoming attitude from HMG towards resettlement and any major
international effort on repatriation would be the key to alleviating
Hong Kong's problems, including, he hinted, by some eventual
relaxation of US criteria. He thought that ways could be found of
tailoring further resettlement into the United Kingdom so as to be
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