2
Vietnamese
6. There are currently approximately 46,000 Vietnamese refugees in camps in South-East Asia in addition to some 10,000 accommodated in the two Refugee Processing Centres.
In 1982, a total of 43,825 Indo-Chinese refugees arrived by boat in South-East Asia, while 45,573 departed for resettlement from first asplum cemps. In the first six months of 1983, 16,365 arrivals and 14,207 departures were recorded, as compared to 27,099 arrivals and 28,536 departures for the corresponding period in 1982,
As of 30 June 1983, third countries have provided 476,066 Vietnamese refugees with permanent asylum, and continue to do so, though in smaller numbers and on a more restrictive basis. Refugees are now spending greater periods in camps and approximately 6,000 have no resettlement possibilities at all after more than 2 1/7 years.
9. In order to address the problem, various options need to be initiated or strengthened. Admission criteria which have become a serious obstacle to the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees need to be relaxed. In the context of regional burden-sharing vis-à-vis international burden-sharing for durable solutions, the possibility of regional self-sufficiency schemes pending permanent solution for limited numbers of Vietnamese refugees lacking, for the time being, other options could be profitably explored. In addition, appropriate steps need to be taken by all governments concerned to facilitate the orderly return by UNHCR of special humanitarian cases to their country of origin.
Lowland Lao and Lao Hilltribe
10. There are currently some 22,600 Lowland Lac and 52,400 Lao Hilltribe refugees in Thailand. In the course of 1982, 5,019 arrivals 73,203 Lowland and 1,816 Hilltribes) and 9,288 departures (6,285 Lowland and 3,003 Hilltribes) were recorded. 3,639 Laotians (1,845 Lowland and 1,794 Hilltribes) were granted temporary asylum in Thailand during the first six months of 1983, as compared to 3,529 (2,295 Lowland and 1,234 Hilltribes) in the corresponding period in 1982. Resettlement departures for this group dropped from 7,262 (5,134 Lowland and 2,128 Billtribes) in the first six months of 1982 to 3,169 (2,645 Lowland and 524 Hilltribes) in the same period in 1983, a reduction of 56.4%. The voluntary repatriation of Lao refugees, while modest in comparison to overall figures, is encouraging. In the course of 1982, 1,069 Lao repatriated voluntarily to their country of origin, bringing to 2,263 the total number who have opted for this solution since the start of the programme in 1980.
11. In order to address the problem, all traditional solutions need to be parsued. The release for resettlement of eligible categories of Lowland Lao should be continued at an increasing rate in order to utilize fully the existing resettlement possibilities. categories needs to be accelerated.
Simultaneously, the off-take of these