CONFIDENTIAL
Vietnamese Asylum Seekers:
Current Perspective for solutions
(Informal Note from UNHCR) HLD 243/11
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I. Introduction
1.
The refugee scene in South East Asia is approaching a watershed. A
complex mix of facts and perceptions have brought about changes in the
thinking and the attitudes towards the asylum seekers. As a result, the
humanitarian practice of asylum has been compromised in some areas.
2.
This informal Note purports to address the concerns that underlie these
changes. It seeks to identify, in earnest, the choices which may exist for
the governments of the ASEAN member states (and Hong Kong) to avoid a departure from their humanitarian record of the past. More than anything,
such choice means a constructive engagement in continued partnership with
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the UNHCR in the process of search for humane and acceptable solutions and
alternatives.
3
This search has already begun.
Certain progress has been made; some
obstacles are yet to be overcome. In providing a succinct account of the
state of consultations with the countries of resettlement and the countries of
origin, this Note tries to define the broad lines around which a new
international consensus may have to be formed.
4. The point of departure is to maintain the structures that already exist. Undeniably, there are signs of some erosion in the commitments made in 1979.
This erosion should not be allowed to spread and lead to a disintegration of
structures which have performed over the years with a high measure of
success. The continued strength of these structures could best be displayed
in statistical terms. Departures for resettlement in 1987
a year marked
with increased arrival rates was nevertheless 40% higher than the rate of
arrivals during the same year. Globally, of the 1,170,000 Indochinese who sought asylum in the ASEAN region (and Hong Kong) during the last thirteen
years, 1,050,000 or 90% have indeed been resettled leaving 145,000 */
region-wide who still await durable solutions.
*/ Figure includes increments due to birth rate.