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was true if one looked on one side of the problem, he wanted to emphasize that going hand-in-hand with the concept of temporary refuge would be better standards for dealing with refugees on an international cooperative basis. Mr Mackley asked whether this might be tantamount to creating international quotas for accommodating refugees, Dr De Stoop thought this too specific, The criteria would have to be discussed later. He repeated that the aim was to tie the question of temporary refuge with burden sharing, The paper made clear the Australian proposals were very preliminary,
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The conversation then turned briefly to other initiatives concerning refugees, Mr Mackley said that the time might have come when we should all reflect on the various proposals, with a view to seeing how compatible they were, Perhaps there was a need for a follow-up Conference on Refugees. However, and speaking personally, he hoped it would be possible to keep the politics of refugees separate from the humanitarian issues, otherwise nothing constructive would be achieved. Dr De Stoop agreed.
UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT
26 September 1980
cc;
Mr McGee, UND (B), ODĄ Mr Snoxell, UKMis Geneva Mr Edis, UKMis New York Mr Fifoot, Legal Advisers Mr Angel, Home Office
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