01A0J
CONFIDENTIAL
UNHCR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (EXCOM): GENEVA, 6-13 OCTOBER
BRIEF NO 6(h)
Background
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
General
1.
8,500 Vietnamese boat refugees are in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement, the largest number of any place of
first asylum in South East Asia.
They are spending increasingly long periods in Hong Kong because of diminishing resettlement prospects; Hong Kong's rate of
resettlement is the lowest in the region. 64% of the refugees have been there more than 3 years, representing by far the highest proportion of "long-stayers" in the region.
Recent Action by HMG
2.
The Government announced in (SCORRI) a White Paper published in September 1985 that HMG will accept for
resettlement some 500 Vietnamese refugees, almost all from
Hong Kong, who have relatives in the UK but who would
normally fall outside the Home Office's criteria for family reunion. Most of the refugees in Hong Kong who qualify
have now arrived.
3.
To
mounted
to
maximise the effect of this decision, we have
a diplomatic campaign to press other countries
resettle more refugees from Hong Kong. Many countries, including Australia (200 refugees), Canada (500), Denmark
(50), Finland (80), the Netherlands (80), New Zealand (20),
Norway (about 75) and Sweden (100) have offered a total of
over 1,000 new resettlement places.
CONFIDENTIAL