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28 JUNE 1979
Indo-Chinese Refugees
[Mr. Goodlad.] State need not be unmanageably large. If only a few countries co-operate the problem will be insoluble. Many people will die in misery and degradation, and there will be a permanent state of very dangerous instability in South East Asia.
I should be most grateful if my hon. Friend the Minister of State will tell the House, in the light of his visit to Geneva and subsequent meetings, what progress has been made in securing international agreement to the provision of money and, more important, facilities for the resettle. ment of refugees ahead of the forthcom- ing conference. What reaction has there been to Dr. Waldheim's appeal, through the United Nations High Commissioner, for countries to commit themselves to receiving a quota of refugees?
I hope that the maximum possible pressure is being and will continue to be put on the Government of Vietnam in the political forum. They are a Govern- ment with few benefactors and few friends, one being the Soviet Union, of which I have the same opinion as I have of Vietnam.
Does my hon. Friend accept the neces- sity of separating that political forum from the forum in which the practical steps of sharing the effort to aid the refugees throughout the international community are discussed?
Does my hon. Friend accept that the task of spreading the responsibility of resettlement cannot be successfully carried out in the same forum as the purely political processes which derive from the situation in Indo-China? Does he regard such a separation as a practical pos- sibility?
If the forthcoming conference is un- successful-Heaven forbid that it should be--the position not only of the refugees but of Hong Kong, given the attitude of the ASEAN countries and, thereby, this country, will be intolerable. There is a minimum that must emerge from the conference—the access of food and drugs via the Red Cross to Kampuchea, the persuasion of the authorities in Vietnam not to continue to facilitate departures on the basis that they are so doing, the pro- vision of adequate new resettlement opportunities for boat and land refugees presently in south east Asia, financial and technical assistance for the United Nations High Commissioner for Governments
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both in South-East Asia and elsewhere who will accept more Indo-Chinese refugees for settlement if so assisted, and assistance for admission directly from Vietnam of the relatives of Indo-Chinese who have already been settled.
The Conservative manifesto specifically mentioned the admission of immigrants on compassionate grounds. The clear distinction between immigrants and other refugees has been forced into the fore- front of our minds in the past few weeks. Although no precise figures are provided, because of the practice of admitting refugees on other grounds if possible, I understand that of the 69,313 immigrants admitted for permanent settlement in 1977 an estimated 1,300-1.9 per cent. refugees. Whatever the trend in the total level of immigration, surely that percent- age must rise. As my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Thompson) pointed out in his maiden speech, if we are to carry conviction in pressing other nations to accept more refugees in this new situation, we shall have to do more ourselves.
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My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Home Office, whose service in this field is widely known said:
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'the United Kingdom's long and honourable tradition of granting asylum to refugees who have arrived here has always been maintained fully. The United Kingdom stands high in the league of refugee-receiving States [Official Report, 25 May 1979; Vol. 967, 1380.]
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According to the estimate of the High Commissioner in 1977 there were about 155,000 refugees, of whom 1,300 arrived here. We have played a part in every international refugee exercise in recent years and we have a notable record fof the way in which we have treated refugees in our community.
I am confident that the speed, deter mination and humanity that my right hon. and hon. Friends have brought to bear on the crisis will bear positive fruit. I hope that some reassurance can be given to the House that the Prime Minister's initiative is meeting the response that it deserves and that some progress towards alleviating the political and economic problems can be made→ together with the alleviation of the desperate personal suffering that has arisen from the grotesque cruelty of the present Government in Vietnam. My hon. Friend has the good wishes of the House in his difficult and urgent task.
11.8 p.m
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