TNAG-0893-FCO40-1103-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 195

RECORD OF MEETING

CONFIDENTIAL

Au Mehaven Min Zwidziane 6.7.

CALL BY AUSTRALIAN DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER MR-M--COOK ON MR STRATTON, 4.30 PM TUESDAY 3 JULY 1979

1280A

Present:

Mr R Stratton

HKK 243.

Mr J Paterson, CCD

EE

Mr M Cook ...

1. Mr Cook had come to receive answers to the three Australian initiatives on racism, refugees and the media, which he had spoken to Mr Stratton about on his call on 18 June (see FCO telng 244 of 19 June to Canberra).

2. Mr Stratton told Mr Cook that he would deal with the three subjects in the order: that which we did not like, that which we half-liked and that which we liked. He thus started with our reactions to the racism initiative and rehearsed our points of difference as outlined in Simpson-Orlebar's minute to Barltrop of 26 June. Mr Cook took in all these points but said that Mr Fraser had, in response to Mr Kaunda's letter (which he sent to all Heads of Government attending the CHGM) said that he intended to introduce an initiative on racism at the CHGM; Mr Cook felt, therefore, that Mr Fraser was committed and would have to say something. Mr Stratton recognised this but hoped that in that case that the Australians could accompany their proposal from the beginning with a draft of the Declaration they had in mind, so that extremist expectations were not aroused; and that this draft should be in as general terms as possible, ideally eschewing any direct mention of South Africa or apartheid, and recalling the 1971 Commonwealth Declaration (referring to "equal rights for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief,") and also take account of the 1963 UN Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. Mr Cook said he would report back these observations.

3. On the refugee initiative, Mr Stratton spoke to Simpson- Orlebar's brief of 26 June. Mr Cook said that he believed that the Australian Government had now dropped the idea of introducing a separate statement on refugees, but would wish to have a reference both to the Vietnamese refugees and those in Africa made in the communique. Mr Stratton made the point that we did not like the Australian wording for the communique as it stood, ie "the respon- sibility for solving refugee problems lies with the entire inter- national community and cannot be left to those countries which, because of their geographical location, are most immediately affected." In the context of the large numbers of refugees there were in Africa, we would wish to avoid this formula. Mr Cook took this point.

CONFIDENTIAL

/4. Mr Stratton

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