TNAG-1180-FCO40-1482-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 61

CONFIDENTIAL

Notes of a meeting held in ExCo Chamber on

Friday, 30th April 1982 at 11:30 a.m.

In Attendance

S for S

DS (S)

DPA

D of I

CEO (S) R

Mr W. Smyser

(Deputy High Commissioner -

UNHCR)

Mr Z. Rizvi

(Regional Co-ordinator for

South-East Asia - UNHCR)

Mrs D. Lasan

(Charge de Mission (HK)

UNHCR)

-

*****

*

S for S welcomed Mr Smyser and Mr Rizvi. He thanked UNHCR for all the help over the years and especially for the resettlement of large numbers of Vietnamese refugees. He added that HKG enjoyed the close co-operation which existed with UNHCR and had been ready to assist with the refugee influx from Vietnam despite other substantial immigration pre- Occupation. Examples were : processing refugees in 1979 when UNHCR staff and funds were not available, constructing camps, allowing refugees to work and allowing refugees from Macao to attend IESL courses in Hong Kong. HKG continued to hold the position that the refugees were here temporarily and UNHCR would use its best endeavour to resettle them quickly. However, for a number of reasons outside Hong Kong's control, the arrangements agreed at the 1979 Geneva Conference for rapid resettlement from places of first asylum no longer held good. The reasons were

(a)

(b)

(c)

-

changes in resettlement country criteria;

a sharp reduction in resettlement offers from third countries; and

the fact that people were working had meant that they had sometimes not shown for interviews and thus ruled themselves out of resettlement on that account.

/2.