TNAG-1275-FCO40-1625-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 26

CONFIDENTIAL

d)

iii)

iv)

v)

vi)

vii)

It is not clear what would happen to refugees who do not have acceptable criteria for resettlement (paragraph 7(d)).

If the first port-of-call principle is waived, Hong Kong would become a target for disembarking boat rescues.

Hong Kong reserves the right to penalise flag states who delay resettlement

RASRO may divert the few remaining opportunities for resettlement away from other Vietnamese (presumably the hard-core remaining in Hong Kong)

Coastal states would presumably still apply the 90-day limit to boat rescues by flag countries who do not participate in RASRO.

MVD and Shipping Policy Division of the DOT were consulted about the Memorandum but had no comments.

3. The Hong Kong Government Office also raised the question of whether Hong Kong, as a British port of registry, would be required to contribute to RASRO in its own right (Hong Kong warn that this is not acceptable for local reasons). HKD may wish to obtain an answer to this point from their Legal Adviser, since it also seems relevant to the responsibilities of Hong Kong in the case of Vietnamese picked up by the vessel MV Poyang.

4.

From the UK point of view, since the present commitment to admit Vietnamese refugees is unlikely to be increased, the major weakness in the UNHCR Memorandum would appear to be the requirement in paragraph 6(d) that a flag state guarantees places for all cases rescued after the exhaustion of its reserve pool. The procedure is not clear on whether a flag state can reserve places in its own pool, before accepting cases from other flag states under RASRO.

5. As SEAD leads on specific cases of Vietnamese refugee rescues at sea, I am copying this minute to Miss Wilmshurst, together with Mr Whomersley's minute of 25 May, and the Legal Advisers' record of the meeting in Geneva last year (UNS 243/2 1982).

6. I would be grateful if recipients would let me have any further comments on the RASRO scheme by close of play on 23 June.

выло

放

DJ Peate

United Nations Department K. 143

233 8631

15 June 1983

NFIDENTIAL