DSR 11C
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reexamined. The involuntary repatriation of would-be
immigrants who cannot satisfactorily claim refugee status
would be justifiable under international law. It is
standard international practice to return involuntarily
individuals who do not satisfy a country's immigration
criteria to the place they came from (though this does
not necessarily mean repatriation). The Hong Kong
Government has, since 1980, operated a policy of
returning all Chinese illegal immigrants entering Hong
Kong from China. The Hong Kong Government has proposed
that arrivals, after a future date, be screened, and that
those not accorded refugee status be compulsorily
repatriated.
The UK Government concluded in May 1985
that this suggestion was politically unacceptable and not
to be discussed bilaterally with Vietnam.
10. In the case of the Indochinese asylum-seekers the
advantages of instituting a system of repatriation would
be that:
(i) it would raise the level of deterrence against
those contemplating irregular departure from their
country of origin if it were clear that there was
high probability that those who could not claim to
be geniune refugees would be returned;
a
(ii) it would break the general assumption of the
authorities in countries of origin and places of
first refuge that the existing resettlement
countries will ultimately accept responsibility for
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