TNAG-1183-FCO40-1485-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 75

{LY MON)

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH

Telephone 01-233 4439

R M Amos Esq DS5

Ministry of Defence Main Building Whitehall SW1

Your reference

D/DS5/7/14/75 E

Our reference

HKK 243/1

HIK243|| Date

24 September 1982

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES :

1.

Tharya AF281+

OPPOSED TOWING OF CRAFT

(64)

See 265 269

Thank you for your minute of 11 August enclosing a copy of a draft Operational Order from the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.

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2. Our Legal Counsellors have pointed out that the UK is signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 19 December 1966, which subject to a reservation made in relation to Article 13, applies to Hong Kong. Article 10(1) of the Covenant reads as follows:

3.

'All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.

Refugees against whom the order was implemented, whether on board the towed vessel or towing vessel, would appear to be deprived of their liberty (see paragraph 17 of the draft Operational Order). The question would therefore arise of whether they were being treated with humanity. The draft Order requires the vessels to be refuelled, reprovisioned and certified as seaworthy; moreover, in paragraph 13 it is stated that an officer of the Marine Department must assess whether the vessel could be 'reasonably expected to make a safe landfall at a place other than Hong Kong or the People's Republic of China'.

4. If all these things were done conscientiously and efficiently, we might be able to defend ourselves against a charge of being in breach of Article 10. However, it would be an additional safeguard if the officer were also required to satisfy himself that the towed vessel was not overloaded. Moreover, we should need to be able to satisfy ourselves that the officials concerned had done all that could be reasonably expected of them to ensure the safety of the refugees.

CONFIDENTIAL

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