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Mr Murray
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CONFIDENTIAL
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VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: APPROACH TO THE UNITED NATIONS HI-GH
COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
1. The Secretary of State has agreed that Mr Blaker should go to
Geneva to see the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mr Hartling, as soon as possible.
2. There are three questions on which representations already
made by Sir J Murray could usefully be reinforced at Ministerial
level. The first is the most important.
Proposed UN Conference
3.
In welcoming the Prime Minister's proposal for a conference
Dr Waldheim stressed the need for careful preparation and said
that he had asked the UNHCR to carry out the necessary consultations with governments. As UKMIS Geneva telegram No 180 makes clear, the
UNHCR has been taking a highly cautious if not negative line.
Whereas we have called for a very early conference in order to put
pressure on Vietnam and galvanise the international community into
taking action, Mr Hartling is displaying strong reluctance to
recommend a conference unless its success in terms of money and
resettlement places can be assured in advance. He is also saying
that it would be at least three months before a conference could
be held. This is clearly unsatisfactory. A direct approach at
Ministerial level would be the best way to underline our view that
the UNHCR is not facing up to the real problems posed by the massive
outflow of Vietnamese refugees from Vietnam, and inject a greater
sense of urgency into his consultations with governments.
CONFIDENTI AL
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