Present
CONFIDENTIAL
Notes of a Meeting with UNHCR Director of International Protection at 2.30 p.m. on 6 July 1983 in Security Branch, C.G.O.
Commissioner of Correctional Services
S for S (Acting) C of CS
AD of IMM (C&I) PAS (S) R
Mr. P.M. Moussalli
Mrs. D.B. Lasan
Mr.
S. Bari
Mr. U. von Blumenthal
**
S for S welcomed Mr. Moussalli to Hong Kong and asked for his views on Hong Kong's current VR problems. Mr. Moussalli expressed his understanding and appreciation for Hong Kong's contribution to the solution of the problem; nevertheless UNHCR recognised that this problem could only be solved on a regional or global basis and in reconciliation with the international principles governing treatment of refugees. UNHCR took the view that a policy of detention could not finally solve the problem in this way. However, the purpose of his visit was to see how VRS were treated here at first hand, to find out if any arrangements for movement out of the centres could be made, and to see if any humane improvements could be made to the current standards applied in closed centres. Mr. Moussalli added that from what he had seen VRS were generally well treated in the closed centres, and enjoyed a fairly "free" environment inside the camps.
2.
S for S said that the HKG and community recognised that C of CS and his staff had undertaken a tough and thankless task in managing the closed centres, and had performed it admirably. In political terms, any overt retreat from the deterrent policy at
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