CONFI
CONFIDENTIAL
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5. Although Switzerland has now annowice
wiad a
total of 3000 resettlement places to be made available by 1980, there seems little likelihood of any of the 9ther
European states offering greatly increased numbers of ra resettlement places for refugees. Norway has pledged 1,500 places, Denmark 500, Belgium 600 places and Iceland places "in principle". Some may be willing to step up their financial assistance to UNHCR and help in other ways, Such countries would include West Germany, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, Austria and Switzerland. According to reports from Ireland the EEC is considering withdrawing aid to Vietnam unless the Vietnamese take more action to halt the outward flow of refugees.
THE THIRD WORLD
6.
Many countries have expressed sympathy for the plight of the refugees and support for the conference (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Mexico etc) but there been little in the way of firm pledges of aid because of poverty, lack of space or because countries already have a refugee problem of their own (eg Mexico, Venezuela). There
are one or two bright spots however Surinam (alone of the South American countries) has offered to take a sizeable
group,
and Saudi Arabia has
..
1
said that favourable consideration would be given to the question of a financial contribution.
J
1
"
帶
AUSTRALIA AND CANADA
7.
t
12
iii.
Australia is of the opinion that Vietnam has been
Lightly treated so far. They are in favour of an international campaign to bring home to the Vietnamese, the depth of feeling in South East Asia. She thinks that little progress will
#
be made to resolve the refugee problem at 'the source, if attention continues to be focussed only on resettlement and financial support for the UNHCR-
Canada also considers the root cause of the
exodus to be political.f
/THE COMMUNIST-STATES
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CONFIDENTIAL
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