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4.4 Further Action To Be Taken
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Parliamentary Questions have been prepared. It was suggested that agencies with branches outside London should ask them to contact their local MPs and give them copies of "Behind Barbed Wire".
Susan Balfour (BRCS) suggested copies of BBW could be sent to ICRC in Geneva, particularly Nick Summer and Paul Mettler.
HK oppen It was agreed that the Chairman should. write to the diplomatic
representatives in London of possible countries of resettlement in order to ascertain whether they would consider accepting more Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong if the UK were seen to be taking a lead.
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It was agreed that the BRC would send a delegation to Richard Luce before the FCO submitted evidence to SCORRI on 14th January. The delegation would include representatives from Save the Children Fund, Ockenden Venture and Oxfam.
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Action
It was agreed to circulate Joyce Pearce's paper on the psychological. problems of Vietnamese refugees. The delegation would consider stressing this aspect, particularly as the deterioration of the refugee's psychological health increased the problems encountered upon resettlement.
Refugees from Irian Jaya in Papua New Guinea
9
Stephen Sinclair-Loutit (UNHCR) reported on the present situation of refugees from Irian Jaya in Papua New Guinea, of which there had been 700 arrivals in the last two weeks. Most of the refugees were within 25 kilometres of the border area though there had been some doubt as to which side of the border some camps were on. The refugees were concentrated into 12 camps, 6 in West Sepik and 6 in Western Province. The UNHCR emergency fund was designed to last from September 1984 to September 1985, and was being used for the procurement of food and the building of storage areas (which had been done). Since the reports of deaths from starvation in August, the refugees conditions had improved. New arrivals tended not to be well after long journeys through the jungle. He believed the worst of the emergency was over, but there still remained the problem of infection from water-born diseases in the camps. Work still needed to be done in the construction of wells.
There had been no cases so far of enforced repatriation, but there had also been no assurances that repatriation would be voluntary.
The Chairman reported that there had been no reply to a letter sent to the High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea in London from the Asia Committee in June asking for assurances that repatriation would be voluntary. Stephen Sinclair-Loutit reported that the MInister of Foreign Affairs had stated there would be no repatriation until the safety of returnees had been guaranteed.
The Committee believed this to be inadequate and separate from an assurance that repatriation would be voluntary.