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HKK 243/1L.
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- 8 DEC 1986
By Let
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FOREIGN SECRETARY
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VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
Mr Benington
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Following David Waddington's visit to Hong Kong and our recent discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, I can now reply substantively to your minute of 15 September.
In my discussions with Mr Hocke and those which David held in Hong Kong and, on return, with the British Refugee Council, we have found an impressive consensus of opinion, even among those pressing us to increase our resettlement commitment, that resettlement is not the answer to the Vietnamese refugee problem. Indeed, it is agreed that it is now contributing to the problem. Despite the general international response to our SCORRI resettlement commitment and despite the operation of Hong Kong's closed camp policy, there will be just as many in the camps at the end of this year as at the beginning. It seems clear that knowledge of a generous resettlement practice must attract what are in effect economic migrants from in particular North Vietnam to try their luck.
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In these circumstances I do not think that we can invite our colleagues to endorse a further UK commitment to resettle Vietnamese refugees except as part of a diplomatic initiative to address the problem as a whole. Such an initiative should ideally involve all the main resettlement countries as well as the UNHCR, and would need to draw in Vietnam itself since there can be no durable solution which does not involve repatriation of those who are not genuine refugees. I recognise that progress on this issue will be slow. Nevertheless, I am concerned that some such joint approach along these lines represents the only
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