to be of concern to the UNHCR because their applications for
resettlement have been denied.
*
The importance of sustaining a strong refugee resettlement
program out of Thailand can scarcely be exaggerated.
Backing
away from sustained resettlement commitments would have the most
negative consequences on the potential for developing additional
approaches for coping with the problem of the Indochinese in
Thailand. Still, it is time to address the fact that not all
Indochinese in Thailand will be resettled as refugees. Some
Indochinese in Thailand, the Highland Lao notable among them,
have not applied for resettlement. An increasing number of
Indochinese have had their applications for refugee resettlement
denied. Further, Thailand is unlikely to make third country
resettlement an option available to all Indochinese in Thailand.
And, finally, a commitment was
a commitment was never made by the international
community to resettle all Indochinese refugees in Thailand.
(There were 140,000 Laotians in Thailand in July, 1979 when the
International Conference on Indochinese Refugee Resettlement was
held in Geneva and their situation was scarcely raised at the
time.)
Given these factors, it is an undeniable reality that
refugee resettlement alone has not and cannot resolve the refugee
problem in Thailand or, more broadly, in Southeast Asia. A more
comprehensive approach is required.
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