JA
NOTE OF A MEETING TO DISCUSS THE SCORRI PROGRAMME, UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AND TEN OR MORE SCHEME, HELD AT LUNAR HOUSE, ON TUESDAY 21 JANUARY 1986
Present:
B1 DIVISION
Mr AR Rawsthorne
Mr S C Handley
Mr S C Wells
Miss A E Hebden
BRITISH REFUGEE COUNCIL
Mr G Jackson
OCKENDEN VENTURE
Ms D Biddles (Secretary)
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
HONG KONG DEPARTMENT
Mr B Denton
Mrs M Kemp
FR
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Mr V Nugyen
485243/1
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY.
17 FEB 1985
REFUGEE ACTION
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
Action Taken
Ms J Meiklejohn
Ms Q L Trinh
Mr D Barton
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE
Mr B Tang
VOLUNTARY SERVICES UNIT
Mr D J Lawrence
Mr A J Lewis
Ms P Dane
SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND
Miss R Brand
UNHCR
Mr R Von Arnim
Ms D Grammer
INTRODUCTION
1. Mr Rawsthorne opened the meeting by saying that the main area of discussion was to be the arrangements for bringing refugees qualifying for entry under the SCORRI Family Reunion criteria to the United Kingdom. The main problem seemed to be that the arrangements for calling forward those who qualified for admission were causing problems for the Hong Kong authorities.
FAMILY REUNIONS
2. The refugee agencies and the Hong Kong Government Office outlined the current procedure for the compilation of lists of those thought to qualify for entry. It was confirmed that the relevant enquiries and verification of details had usually been carried out by the refugee agencies before submission to the British Refugee Council's Family Reunion co-ordinator and the Home Office, and only if there were any discrepancies with Home Office records would the list be referred back to the British Refugee Council by the Home Office. The Hong Kong Government were concerned that those with temporary addresses outside the camps should not be excluded on that account, provided they were still refugees.
3. The lists submitted by the various United Kingdom agencies did not correspond in detail with those of the UNHCR or the Hong Kong Government. The latest list compiled by the Hong Kong Government had recently been sent to the United Kingdom refugee agencies and it was agreed that they would take it into account as far as possible in ordering their priorities. (There would be no need for UNHCR to submit a separate list). However, it was acknowledged that considerations of resettlement and housing, over which the agencies had no direct control, necessitated their making the final decision when submitting names of those to be called forward. Concern was expressed over the inevitable raising of expectations when information was obtained from United Kingdom sponsors or the refugees themselves and not subsequently
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