VED IN
IMSTRY NO.
UNITED
NATIONS. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES.
14/15 Stratford Place
London W1N 9AF
коду Pleopy to
MUD
HKIOD
SEAD
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Disaster UniVOJM MAID ODM
On 6 May 1975 the following press release was issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva:
UNHCR assessing situation of Vietnamese outside their country
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A number of governments have drawn the attention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the recent arrival in various countries of large numbers of Vietnamese, as well as groups of Cambodians, who left their countries during the recent events and who now need assistance.
The High Commissioner has expressed concern about the substantial number of people who clearly require urgent solutions to their situation. The Office will place emphasia, according to the need, on resettlement in countries willing to accept them, or durable asylum in countries where they have arrived. The High Commissioner is contacting a number of governments, of countries of potential resettlement. In addition, UNHCR will assist in facilating voluntary repatriation whenever possible, if this is the preferred choice of some of the uprooted, and the reuniting of split families thereby alleviating the tragic consequences of separation.
According to information available at this stage, these groups have arrived in significant numbers in Guam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, though smaller numbers find themselves in a number of other countries including some outside the area.
The High Commissioner's representatives are assessing the situation in these countries in order to provide the data required for appropriate action. As part of this comprehensive assessment, two UNHCR officials arrived in Guam today.
The High Commissioner, Sadruddin Aga Khan, stated, "My Office has always helped promote speedy solutions to problems of refugees and displaced persons, wherever they might be. UNHCR will, as in the past, seek ways to encourage, as needed, voluntary repatriation, integration in countries of first asylum, or resettlement of indiv- iduals of concern to us, in a strictly humanitarian and non-political
manner.
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