CONFIDENTIAL
20.
ASEAN countries, in particular Thailand, increasingly frustrated at lack of movement towards relieving refugee burden. Pressing for more resettlement. No prospect of countries of first
asylum accepting more refugees for local integration. Voluntary
repatriation not practicable option for Vietnamese, Cambodians or
many Lao in present circumstances. In 1985, UNHCR and Thai
Government introduced policy of "screening" those fleeing from Laos.
'screened out" as economic migrants still waiting for Lao
Government to fulfil commitment to take them back.
21. Outside Thailand, Hong Kong has largest case load in region
(currently some 8,400 Vietnamese boat people; high proportion of long stayers). Resettlement slowing, partly as result of a belief
in main resettlement countries that many may now be fleeing for
economic motives rather than in fear of persecution. In response to
report by Sub Committee on Race Relations and Immigration
(SCORRI) of Home Affairs Committee in 1985, criteria were
relaxed to allow resettlement of some 500 Indo-Chinese from
Hong Kong. This stage almost completed. With UNHCR assistance we secured 1,000 new resettlement offers for refugees in Hong Kong.
Now considering whether UK might accept further limited numbers; Hong Kong absorbing up to 250 ethnic Chinese from longest stayers. UK also implementing further SCORRI commitment to take some 60 Indo-Chinese from camps elsewhere in South East Asia.
Alternatives to Resettlement
22.
concerned about the growing reluctance of the main
resettlement countries to accept as refugees from Hong Kong camps those whom they consider to have left Vietnam for economic rather than political reasons; and about the implications for Hong Kong of a resultant decline in the rate of resettlement whilst the flow of
new arrivals into Hong Kong from Vietnam is continuing. In order to explore what alternatives to third country resettlement might exist, we have approached members of the "Inter-governmental Committee" (IGC) (or "Honolulu Group"), which comprises the main resettlement countries (the US, Australia and Canada), Japan and the UNHCR. It meets periodically in Geneva for informal discussions on Indo-Chinese refugee and resettlement matters and, we understand, has begun to address the same concerns as ourselves.
N69AAR
CONFI ENTIAL