1
}
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DISCUSSIONS WITH
MKCK 243/5
H
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
(11)
MR LUCE'S VISIT TO GENEVA: 11-12 MARCH 1985:
UNHCR
INDO-CHINESE REFUGEES
POINTS TO MAKE
INDEX
- 8 MAR 1985
8H
Thai/Cambodian Border
1 Serious situation. Heavy burden of extra refugees. Concerned at problems created for you and Thailand by recent influx of
Cambodians.
2 Concerned about future policy towards recently arrived Cambodians.
What plans are being made for them? Assume no question of their being eligible for resettlement?
3 UK supported EC's recent food aid pledge to UNHCR for refugees in
Thailand. UK pledged extra £250,000 to UNBRO February 1985 (total
for FY £500,000).
Search for Durable Solutions
4 Key to the problem. Any progress in search for durable solutions?
Resettlement
5 UK, like UNHCR, convinced that resettlement in Western industrialised
countries not the best solution. But, we have particular problem with Hong Kong's residue of over 11,000 Vietnamese (see separate brief on Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong).
Local or Regional Integration
6 Hope local or regional integration could be encouraged,
example in some ASEAN countries.
for
[Defensive] Not in Hong Kong
Are you planning to take any steps?
though which has already taken 14,500 Indo-Chinese, which must be
largest per capita resettlement anywhere.
Voluntary Repatriation
7 Agree that where realistic voluntary repatriation is the ideal
solution. We must work together towards this goal. Encouraged by small-scale precedent of your Lao repatriation programme. However
in Hong Kong's case very few volunteers and unlikely that this will
change (see separate brief on Hong Kong for points to use on involuntary repatriation).
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/Future