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B
C
✓
committees resume after the summer break. We shall submit
towards the end of August with а draft minute from the
Secretary of State to the
to the Home Secretary arguing that the
present resettlement programme should at least be kept
going until the issue can be discussed by Ministers
collectively. (Home Office officials have advised us that
an approach at that level may be more promising than one from Mr Renton to Mr Waddington.)
5.
On our strategy for international discussion of the
problem we have now consulted UKMis Geneva (our telno 319
and UKMIS telno 476).
An international strategy
6.
involve ourselves in
issue by associating
Geneva for
It is proposed that we
international consultation on the
ourselves with the "Honolulu group". This comprises the
main resettlement countries (the US, Australia and Canada),
Japan and the UNHCR, and meets periodically in Geneva
informal discussion on refugee and resettlement matters. It has become increasingly apparent that the Honolulu group
is already addressing the same concerns as ourselves. An
Australian paper discussed at the last meeting of the group
(in June) drew attention to the continuing outflow from
Vietnam; to the fact that the
"refugees" were seeking better
than fleeing from political
problems posed thereby for
countries of first asylum.
7.
vast majority of these
economic prospects rather
persecution; and to the
resettlement countries and
It is the advice of UKMIS Geneva that our association
would be welcomed by other members of the group. We shall
need to make approaches to group members in early September, reinforcing these by action in capitals. It is
anticipated that the October meeting of the Executive
Committee of UNHCR will offer opportunities for more
intensive discussion in the margins, and perhaps even for
substantive debate in EXCOM itself.
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