Orderly Departure Program
In reality, the avenues by which Vietnamese can leave their
native country outside of clandestine refugee channels are still
fairly limited. The UNHCR-sponsored Orderly Departure Program
(ODP) has facilitated the safe migration of some 130,000
Vietnamese to Western countries since its inception in 1979.
However, an expansion of the program to make it a widely
accessible and effective alternative to clandestine boat
departures has been severely hindered by bureaucratic and
logistical bottlenecks and more significantly, by political
and diplomatic differences between Vietnam and the receiving
countries. Until the recent shift in the temporary asylum
policies of countries in the region, the prospect of relatively
easier access to third-country refugee resettlement made the
risks of clandestine flight an acceptable alternative to those
whose hopes for legal migration were frustrated.
The goal of expansion of the ODP must be an essential
centerpiece of any new initiatives to be undertaken.
It is hoped
that, if properly managed and made widely accessible, this
program would become the primary means of exit for persons
wishing to emigrate from Vietnam. As such, it could promise to
become a truly effective alternative (and deterrent) to dangerous
clandestine boat and overland departures. To achieve this goal
will require the devotion of considerable resources and sustained
political will on the part of the countries concerned.
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