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Mr Galsworthy /
HKD
MKK 243/2.
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
07 MAY 1985
DESK OFFICER INDEX
75
From:
P Lever
United Nations Dept
Date:
3 May 1985
BELMARYCC:
PA
action Taken
Mr Hartland-Swann,
SEAD
aw
CALL BY UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN LONDON:
HONG KONG REFUGEES
1. I took the opportunity of a call on me yesterday by Mr von Arnim, the UNHCR representative in London, to raise the points made in the attached copy of the briefing which your Department was kind enough to prepare on Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong.
2. As regards the closed camps, Mr von Arnim said that he recognised the strong feelings held in Hong Kong. Nonetheless the UNHCR regarded their continued existence as a stain on the international conscience. They questioned whether the relatively small number of people involved really justified the imposition of such a draconian measure; and wondered in any event whether it was effective. Their impression was that the closed camp policy had not served as a significant disincentive in curbing new arrivals and that there would not therefore be any increase in arrivals if the camps were abolished. I told Mr von Arnim that nonetheless the strong resentment in Hong Kong about what was seen as privileged treatment for people who had no family connections with Hong Kong and whose principal motive in going there was a desire for economic betterment was a factor the Government was bound to take into account. I did not leave him with any impression that the policy was likely to be discontinued.
3. As regards the suggestion in the Scorri Report that the British Government should accept the resettlement in the UK of some 500 or so refugees with family connections, I told Mr von Arnim that, although no decision had yet been taken, officials were studying the idea carefully and were even looking at the possibility of a continuing programme of offtake. The key factor in the Government's decision would be an assessment of whether a gesture of this kind by the United Kingdom would serve as a catalyst to others to contribute to resolving the problem. Did the UNHCR have reason to believe that this would be the case? Mr von Arnim said that, even without having consulted his authorities in Geneva, he was sure that the answer was yes. Several countries,
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