TNAG-1273-FCO40-1623-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 94

CONFIDENTIAL

CALL BY MR HARTLING, UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, 14 APRIL

ESSENTIAL FACTS

UNHCR

1. Hartling a former Foreign Minister (1968-71) and

Prime Minister of Denmark (1973-74). UN High Commissioner

for Refugees since December 1977. Reappointed by last

General Assembly for three years. Aged 69. The Office of

UNHCR (not Hartling individually) was awarded the Nobel

Peace Prize in 1982.

UNHCR MANDATE AND PROGRAMMES

2.

UNHCR will spend more than US$300m this year. Main relief

programmes are in Pakistan ($78m), Somalia ($41m), Sudan ($24m)

and Thailand ($26m). Contributions are voluntary. After the

United States, Britain is the second largest contributor,

giving a total last year of more than £12m. We gave £5.4m

direct to the General Programme (£3m as food aid, not cash) and

£2.1m to special appeals, including Afghan refugees in Pakistan,

the Vietnam Orderly Departure Programme, Somalia, Sudan, Ugandans

in Zaire and Central American refugees. Britain's share of

the European Community contribution to UNHCR is about 20%,

exceeding £5m last year.

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

3. Over 12,000. Up on last year. Most in UNHCR centres; less than one-third in the closed camps established by Hong Kong last

year. Most new arrivals are Vietnamese, rather than ethnic Chinese

as before, and include many from North Vietnam. There are demands

in Hong Kong to reclassify boat people as illegal immigrants and

to introduce forcible repatriation to discourage new arrivals.

Hong Kong say 90% of applications for resettlement in the

United States are rejected on the grounds of being economic

migrants rather than refugees. Vietnam's human rights record

makes forcible repatriation unacceptable to us. Hartling wrote

/to us (and other

CONFIDENT I AL