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PORTUGAL
Even though Portugal participates in resettlement efforts, the economic situation in the country precludes the possibility of enlarging the current resettlement quota.
NEW ZEALAND
The largest caseload of refugees resettling in New Zealand is of Indochinese origin. The quota for Indochinese has been increased from 650 to 720 as of June 1985, as follows: 500 persons with family links in New Zealand, 100 of Laotian origin and 50 to be split between DISERO and RASRO. 70 places are reserved on recommendation from UNHCR for refugees with no relatives in New Zealand, the selection criteria being :
a) That they have no relatives elsewhere in the world, b) They have been in camps for 4 years or more, or c) They are accompanied by family members.
On arrival at the receiving centre in Auckland, refugees remain for medical examination, language and culture orientation for 6 weeks, cared for by Voluntary Agencies, then move to the homes of their sponsors church groups or relatives. The Indochinese refugees do not normally present integration problems. However, this has not been the case with the East Europeans, some even requesting to return to Europe.
A total of 854 refugees were resettled in 1985, including East Europeans, Iranian Bahai's and disabled persons.
New Zealand expects to continue to operate along the same resettlement lines in future.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Representative pointed out that The Netherlands is already an overcrowded country with some of the highest unemployment figures in Western Europe which limits its capacity to resettle refugees. Its annual quota of 250 is divided on the basis of priorities established together with UNHCR. The Netherlands prefers to receive refugees in national ethnic groups as it is easier, for reasons of language and culture, to coordinate their training and integration. An increase of the 1986 quota is under consideration, but no decision has yet been taken. In addition to the Indochinese refugees coming from camps in Thailand, The Netherlands is considering taking some Vietnamese longstayers from Hong Kong camps, but will await the outcome of UNHCR's discussions with the Hong Kong authorities before making a decision. The Government considers that its ability to cooperate with UNHCR in the resettlement field, due to budgetary constraints, depends very much on the number of spontaneous "irregular" arrivals of asylum-seekers. These people, if refugees, are literally jumping the resettlement queue. The authorities consider that UNHCR should apply the 1951 Convention criteria when selecting refugees for resettlement.
AUSTRIA
Due to its geographic situation, many asylum-seekers arrive in Austria from neighbouring countries. This influx is given priority and hence no resettlement quota exists. However, in a situation where refugees need to be resettled for emergency reasons, Austria is willing to
consider cases presented by UNHCR.
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