TNAG-1180-FCO40-1482-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 42

STATEMENT OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER

(TECHNICAL MEETING ON RESETTLEMENT OF INDO-CHINESE REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS 22 APRIL 1982)

I am glad and grateful to have this opportunity to get together with you once again to compare notes on the resettlement of Indo-Chinese refugees and displaced persons. It is sometimes said that the purpose of meetings is 'to talk in order not to act'. It is my sincere hope that this will not be one of those meetings, particularly since we are going to discuss a subject which seems to be losing its popularity in some quarters,

Allow me, first, to clarify the purpose of this meeting. It is a technical meeting called with the exclusive objective of taking stock of what has been achieved and what remains to be done in the field of resettlement of Indo-Chinese still in the refugee camps in South, East Asia who have a reasonable claim or expectation

It is not my to be accepted by countries of resettlement. intention to press you for what may be unrealistic to demand. do hope, however, that the international community would not be found wanting in its understanding of the problem or in its support

It is our duty for a solution which requires collective effort.

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to jointly try to alleviate the hardship of the refugees and the I burden on the countries of first asylum, particularly Thailand. would like to assure you that my Office is leaving no stone unturned to promote all appropriate durable solutions including voluntary repatriation.

Let us see where we stand today with regard to the Vietnamese, Lao, and Kampuchean asylum seekers in South East Asia. During the last two years, the over-all caseload has been reduced to half of what

it was.

Since our last meeting in July 1981, significant progress.

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