CODE 18-77
RESTRICTED
2 -
Reference...
Г
UNHCR had requested clarification of the Government's policy of granting temporary refuge to boat people. The authorities in Bangkok had said that those who landed on Thai shores would be allowed to stay (in other words, the principle was being preserved, but the practice had broken down). Mr Homann-Herimberg was assigned by UNHCR to conduct the talks and, during his visit to Bangkok, had met senior officials of the RTG.
The Key Issue of First Asylum
6.
The RTG officials had given different views. Some had said that the restoration of asylum was linked to the number of arrivals: ie once the influx subsided, the push-offs would stop. Others had said that the policy of asylum would apply only to genuine refugees (ie they considered that not all of the "refugees" were refugees: some were in search of a better life). Other officials were less reassuring push-offs were continuing on the
East and the South Coast.
7. Five boats (on 16, 17 and 22 March) had been allowed to land. This could suggest a relaxation of the policy of push-offs although Mr Dewey thought that it might be premature to interpret it thus.
8. The Thai authorities were still maintaining that the East Coast arrivals were economic migrants and that the smuggling network meant that the risks were far less for the boat people. The East Coast arrivals were still coming overland via Phnom Penh. UNHCR interviews with the arrivals up to the end of January had not indicated any change in the composition or profile of the arrivals: they did fit the 1951 Refugee Convention definition.
Proposed UNHCR/RTG Agreement
9. The Thai authorities were therefore keeping the arrivals of the last two months in different camps: reservations had been expressed by the ICRC and others as well as UNHCR. There were over 2,000 arrivals on the islands and the first batch had been moved to Site 2 on 16 March. Site 2 was over-crowded and unsafe. UNHCR had now negotiated an agreement with the RTG which was being signed reluctantly on 25 March in Bangkok (Mr Dewey said "reluctantly" because UNHCR did not like the Thai decision to transfer the refugees to Site 2). (Comment: UNHCR informed us on 29 March that it had not been signed as planned. See record of local ICG meeting of 29 March). The agreement covered the following:
(a)
(b)
the Vietnamese refugees would be under the UNHCR mandate, so UNHCR would provide protection and assistance with the full support of the RTG;
the refugees from the islands would be kept separate from the Khmer population and in a clearly defined area in the southern portion of Site 2 under the direct jurisdiction of the RTG and not under the jurisdiction of the border resistance; and
RESTRICTED
/(c)