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As in previous years, others present were invited to speak and Ha van Lau was asked to respond immediately to each one. The Delegations which took the floor were Belgium, Australia, FPG, Netherlands, Japan, Canada. Switzerland, UK, US and France. We spoke as instructed by telephone: text enclosed.
5. Most others spoke on similar lines, acknowledging the increase in the numbers of departures and the Vietnamese efforts to improve ladministration. Japan expressed willingness to cooperate under
the scheme but concern that preference appeared to be given to those who held new Vietnamese passports and that some categories of people were not allowed to leave. They asked whether lack of funds was a problem and suggested that Vietnam might tap new sources for contributions by charging a fee for the departure permit. Ha van Lau responded that Vietnam showed no discrimination on legal departures. The passport question was "irrelevant". On the categories of people allowed to leave he referred to the seven Point Memorandum of May 1979 which indicated the criteria for those allowed to depart. He ducked the financial point, saying simply that Vietnam was doing everything possible to improve the programme.
6.
The US said that they were ready to accept 12,000 people a year under the ODP and hoped that Vietnam would expand its administrative arrangements to allow this and deal quickly with priority cases. They saw three major problems with the programme. UNHCR's existing staff in Vietnam was barely sufficient; documentation was still difficult oving to the vagaries in the delivery of mail; people in the provinces were experiencing particular difficulty in obtaining permits to go to the US.
Ha van Lau took note of these points and said that he would address them in the bilateral meeting with the US on the following day.
7. The occasion was rather ritualistic but showed at least that the Vietnamese continue to want to talk about the programme. Recipient countries were able to show their continuing interest in the ODP.
Cc:
DJ Peate Era, UND, FCO Chanceries Bangkok
ever
Yours Brian
BD Adams
Hanoi
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