TNAG-0892-FCO40-1102-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 130

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CONFIDENTIAL

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28.6

RECORD OF MEETING BETWEEN THE MINISTER OF STATE AND REPRESENTATIVES OF BRITISH VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED IN INDO-CHINESE REFUGEE WORK AT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE, ON WEDNESDAY 13 JUNE, 1979, AT 9.45 AM.

Present:

Mr Peter Blaker, MP

Mr T C S Stitt

Mr P J-Williamson

Mr C A Munro

Sir Leslie Kirkley, Chairman,

Standing Conference on Refugees

Mr John Cumber, Director-General,

Save the Children Fund

Mr Michael Harris, Overseas Director,

OXFAM

Rev Graeme Jackson, Chairman,

Asia Committee, Standing

Conference on Refugees

Miss Joyce Pearce,

The Ockenden Venture

蓄

1. Sir Leslie Kirkley began by recalling the Standing Conference's

interest in Indo-Chinese refugees, and his recent letter to the Prime

Minister about the refugees on MV Sibonga and MV Roach Bank. The

Conference had subsequently met Mr Raison. They were grateful for this

chance of discussing the problem with Mr Blaker. All the voluntary

agencies represented were active in South East Asia or with South East

Asian refugees in the United Kingdom: they wanted to work with the

Government. There were differing views on the form that a conference,

as proposed by the Prime Minister, should take: it might be a widely

based United Nations Conference, or based on the UNHCR Executive

Committee with perhaps 20 or 25 further countries added. Sir Leslie

said that a Conference based on the UNHCR Committee would have the

benefit of remaining unpoliticised. The voluntary agencies were anxious and willing to follow up the results of any conference. they attend, possibly as observers attached to the British Delegation?

2. Sir Leslie recalled the agencies' collaboration with the Government over refugee projects in South East Asia. He hoped that ODA would continue financial support.

Could

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