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Does Britain have the capacity to receive more refugees?
The total capacity of the reception accommodation now being used for the Vietnam refugees by voluntary service organi- sations in Britain is between 1,500 and 2,000. Extra accommodation could be found but any influx of 1,000 or more persons while the present accommodation is still occupied would mean more camps having to be opened or the government finding other suitable premises.
So far, refugees have had to spend from 3 to 6 months in reception centres before being settled in permanent local authority housing. The Greater London Council recently offered 400-500 housing units, mostly in Greater London.
How many refugees have been received in Britain in the past?
The UNCHR estimates that about 150,000 refugees enjoy asylum in Britain. Since the 1950s the following have been given refuge: nearly 30,000 Asians from Uganda, 10,000 Cypriots, 22,000 Hungarians, 2,000 Czechoslovaks, a number of Ethiopians and Iraqi Kurds.
What is the agreement between the UNHCR and the Vietnamese Government?
On 2 June the Vietnamese News Agency announced that the Vietnamese Government had agreed with the UNHCR on a programme to permit the orderly departure of persons who wished to leave Vietnam for countries of new residence. Authority would cover family reunion and other humanitarian cases. Selection would be made on the basis of lists prepared by the Vietnamese Government and receiving countries, persons whose names appeared on both lists being qualified for exit. The proposal appears to cover only people who have offers of resettlement places because they have links with relatives abroad. An estimate of those who meet the conditions suggests a figure of fewer than 30,000 the equivalent of about ten days' influx of "boat people".
What obligation is there for passing vessels to pick up refugees from small boats?
Under the terms of three Conventions (Brussels, 1911; Geneva, 1958; and London 1960) all signatory States require masters of their registered ships to render assistance to people in distress at sea, provided that by doing so their own vessels are not seriously endangered. This obligation has been embodied in United Kingdom legislation. There is no rule of inter- national law providing for a vessel which has picked up people in distress to disembark them at its first port of call. But in October 1978 the UNHCR's Executive
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