Orderly Repatriation Programme is based on two firm
principles: firstly, no-one whom the UNHCR judges to be a genuine refugee will be returned to Vietnam and, secondly,
no-one returned will suffer persecution. Hong Kong will
continue to be a place of first asylum; all Vietnamese
migrants arriving there will be screened and, if initially
found to be non-refugees, may appeal to an independent Review Board. If the original decision is upheld, the UNHCR
will continue to have the right to exercise its mandate and
*
reverse this decision. In this way no-one whom the UNHCR
believes to be a genuine refugee will be returned to
Vietnam.
The Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed that no-one
returning to Vietnam will be persecuted for having left the
country illegally. They have agreed to facilitate the work
of the UNHCR in monitoring all those who go back, regardless
of their mode of return, to ensure that they are able to
carry on their lives in safety and dignity.
10
The British Government recognises that action is also
necessary to tackle the root causes of the exodus from
Vietnam. At a regional meeting of CPA participants in
Manila in May 1990, Britain announced a £1 million
contribution for activity by British non-governmental organisations in areas of Vietnam from which the asylum seekers originate. At Britain's initiative, the European Commission inaugurated in February this year a six-month,
million Ecu (£7 million) pilot programme of reintegration
assistance for those returning to Vietnam. In September,
the European Commission announced that it would follow up
this pilot programme with a two-and-a-half year programme
costing 120 million Ecu (£84 million). As well as her share of the European Community's contribution, Britain has pledged a further £3 million to this programme, and has
increased her bilateral aid to Vietnam.
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