TNAG-0894-FCO40-1104-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 129

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SECRETARY OF STATE'S SPEECH AT GENEVA

FIRST REDRAFT

Mr Secretary-General, High Commissioner, Excellencies:

I should like first to express my Government's gratitude to you, Mr Secretary-General, for inviting us here to-day, and to all of our colleagues for attending.

I must record my regret that certain countries have chosen not to attend, including certain countries which in their public statements to date have seemed to wish to pretend that this crisis does not exist. Your own introduction

& I

and Mr Hartling's statement prove that to be a shameful pretence. I hope and trust that our deliberations here will prove beyond question that my Prime Minister was right on 30 May to ask you to bring the world community together to discuss this continuing tragedy, and that your own decision to summon us was fully justified.

I also pay tribute, on behalf of my Government and myself, to the High Commissioner for Refugees, and to his staff. We all owe our thanks to Mr Hartling for the way in which he has conducted the preparatory consultations for this meeting, and for the frankness and thoroughness with

He has helped us a to which he has spoken to us all. focus on the stark realities of this crisis, and to realise the urgent need for action on a scale which only a few

months ago seemed inconceivable.

Within the limites of its

resources, the High Commission has responded magnificently

to the crisis in South-East Asia.

Mr Secretary-General,

Now we must all do more.

Your action in calling us together is without

precedent.

But so is the problem which we are here to

/discuss.

Dr 427265 250M 5/77 905275