CONFIDENTIAL
FM UKMIS GENEVA
TO IMMEDIATE FCO TELNO 304
OF 020939Z JUNE
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
CONFIDENTIAL
073217
MDHIAN 1662
MY TELNO 300: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: UNHCR REACTION
1. DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES HAS NOW GIVEN WRITTEN RESPONSE TO APPROACH BY HEAD OF CHANCERY LAST WEEK ON POLICY OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH INCREASED FLOW OF VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE INTO HONG
KONG. TEXT AS FOLLOWS:
QUOTE
1. UNHCR IS PRESENTLY INVOLVED IN CONSULTATIONS WITH COUNTRIES OF FIRST ASYLUM AND WITH THE SRV WITH A VIEW TO EXPLORING THE VIABILITY OF A PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH REFUGEE ELIGIBILITY SCREENING MECHANISM IN ALL RELEVANT COUNTRIES (AND TERRITORIES).
2. UNHCR, HOWEVER, BELIEVES THAT AN ESSENTIAL CONDITION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PLAN IS THE EXISTENCE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SAFE AND MONITORED RETURN OF THE SCREENED-OUT TO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. FOR DIFFERENT REASONS, MALAYSIA AND THAILAND ALSO CONSIDER THE READMISSION OF NON-REFUGEES BY THE SRV AS ESSENTIAL.
3. IN ITS PRESENT CONSULTATIONS WITH THE SRV, THE UNHCR THEREFORE IS TRYING TO OBTAIN A CHANGE OF POLICY FROM THE SRV ON THE ISSUE OF THE RETURN OF THE NON-REFUGEES. WE ARE NOT TOTALLY PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE OUTCOME IF OTHER INTERESTED GOVERNMENTS NOTABLY THOSE OF THE ASEAN JOIN IN THIS EFFORT.
4. OUR REQUEST TO COUNTRIES OF FIRST ASYLUM (WHICH HAS BEEN FULLY ELABORATED IN A RECENTLY SUBMITTED PAPER TO THE ASEAN GOVERNMENTS AND HONG KONG) IS ESSENTIALLY TWOFOLD:
A)
DISPLAY OF GREATER PATIENCE, NOTABLY AVOIDANCE OF UNILATERAL INITIATIVES THAT COULD HAMPER OUR EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CONCERTED LONGER TERM PLANS. THEREFORE MORE TIME FOR UNHCR TO АСТ.,
B) JOIN IN THE EFFORTS TO PERSUADE THE SRV TO CHANGE ITS PRESENT
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