TNAG-0890-FCO40-1100-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 216

CONFIDENTIAL

3-

DSR 11C

Disadvantages

8. Any worthwhile resolution would fail, because of a

Soviet veto if not for lack of nine supporting votes.

9. Vietnam, having decided on the mass expulsion of

ethnic Chinese for national and/or ideological reasons,

would pay no attention whatsoever to any criticism at

the Security Council. Thus the aim at 3(a) above would

not be achieved.

10.

A Security Council debate would be unlikely to have

any significant effect upon the willingness of other

countries to accept refugees (paragraph 3(b) above).

11. The debate might be exploited to our disadvantage

by other countries wishing to discuss Palestinian and

Rhodesian refugee problems, and used as a

precedent to call for further Security Council debates on

those and other refugee problems.

12. If Dr Waldheim had not organized the special

conference requested by the Prime Minister, he would either

regard a Security Council debate as a substitute for it,

or he would feel inhibited by a vetoed resolution from

proceeding with it.

13.

A debate would turn into an East/West confrontation.

/The re

B9280 D₫ 532113 200M 2/79 S1S