TNAG-0898-FCO40-1108-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 173

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Our third major area of concern is the safety and

well-being of refugees who flee by boat.

Unfortunately, there are two persistent obstacles

to the protection of refugees on the high seas. First, the

escape of refugees by boat is made even more perilous by

the constant threat of attack by pirates. My government

is distressed by reports of brutal treatment of refugees at

the hands of pirates. The United States is prepared to work

with other governments, particularly those in the region,

to find ways to protect refugees from pirates.

The second obstacle is the unwillingness of some

governments to guarantee resettlement of refugees rescued

by ships registered under their flag. The resulting delays

in disembarking refugees and losses to ships' owners create

a disincentive to rescue operations, despite clear

obligations under international law and maritime tradition,

to assist those in distress. While we sympathize with the

interests of ships' masters and owners we would point out

that human lives are at stake in Southeast Asia. We call

for increased efforts to assist masters and owners facing

this dilemma.

I would like to turn briefly to a few other steps

taken at the Geneva meeting in July and bring you up to date

on efforts by the United States in implementing them.

Clearly one of the most significant and successful efforts

at the July meeting was the expansion of resettlement

opportunities to meet the increased flow of refugees from

For our part, we have doubled our resettlement

Indochina.