TNAG-1180-FCO40-1482-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 57

STATEMENT TO BE MADE BY UK DELEGATION AT UNHCR TECHNICAL RESETTLEMENT MEETING ON 22 APRIL 1982

1.

Grateful to the UNHCR for arranging another in the series of technical meetings to review the various groups of refugees who are awaiting resettlement. Thankful for Mr Hartling's opening remarks that this meeting is essentially a debriefing following recent exchanges, particularly in SE Asia, between

UNHCR officials and first asylum countries.

2. The UK is particularly concerned at this time because of two recent developments:- First the change in intentions of some major resettlement countries concerning the categories of persons eligible for resettlement. These will have a serious effect on the numbers of people who might be resettled in the future. Secondly, there is the indication from the UNHCR that of all categories the lowest priority will be accorded to the boat people. Yet it was the boat people whose sufferings caught the sympathy of the world.

3. The above two factors have particular significance for refugees in Hong Kong. The number of refugees entering Hong Kong is likely to increase over the coming months and there is a continual building up of an already established hard-core of refugees who now appear to have little opportunity of being

resettled.

4. At present there are more than 10,000 refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement. A more important statistic, however, is that many of the hard-core of over 6,000 have been waiting for some two and a half years. We are therefore concerned to hear from Mr Rizvi's remarks in Bangkok on 2 April that the boat people from Vietnam are now being accorded lower priority for resettlement than any other group.

But the

5. Hong Kong's record over the acceptance and treatment of refugees is second to none and is frequently acknowledged as a model of the way a first asylum country should act. present indications that she will be left with an increasing number of non-placeable refugees are causing a serious political problem in Hong Kong and great anxiety in London.

/6.