E.R.
UND
867 A
NOTE OF A MEETING HELD ON 19 NOVEMBER 1979
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DENO. 51
P/Mr Bancr
BJM LUG Mur Minvay
RECE CALL BY DEPUTY UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
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Mr. Dale de Haan (Deputy UNHCR) Mr. Jean Heidler (London Representive
Home Secretary
Mr Butler
see and keep if needed
Mrr Day
of UNHCR)
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This was a brief courtesy call by Mr. Dehaan.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
2.
FanyL
The Home Secretary said that the Government was doing all it could to speed up the reception of Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong, consistent with the need to settle those who had been received into camps in this county into the community and to avoid overcrowding at the reception camps. There remained a number of problems in the way of settling refugees into the community quickly: there was the problem of language; and it had been found that some local authorities were refusing to offer accommodation to refugees until they had found employment. However, these problems were being tackled with some success, and the Government attached much importance to the work of the Joint Committee under the chairmanship of Sir Arthur Peterson.
3. Mr. de Haan expressed satisfaction with the rate of reception of Vietnamese refugees, and with the appointment of Sir Arthur Peterson's Committee. One of the problems in South East Asia was that of explaining to refugees which countries could receive them and what they could expect to find when they arrived. For this reason, the UNHCR believed that receiving countries should establish a permanent presence in South East Asia so that they could inform refugees about the options open to them.
4. Mr. de Haan told the Home Secretary that he would be visiting reception camps on Tuesday, 20 November. From what he had heard he expected to find conditions in the camps to be very good. The Home Secretary said that if Mr. de Haan judged that any improvements could be made, he would be grateful to hear about them from him.
ASYLUM
5. Mr. de Haan expressed satisfaction with the proposals the Government had put forward in the draft revised Immigration Rules in relation to asylum cases.
OTHER POTENTIAL REFUGEE PROBLEMS
6. The Home Secretary expressed concern about the effects of political upheaval in Iran and said it was clear that the numbers leaving Iran were now considerable and contained the
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