TNAG-1424-FCO40-1907-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-general-1985 — Page 148

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CONFIDENTIAL

MR

LUCE'S VISIT TO GENEVA:

11-12 MARCH

1985: DISCUSSIONS WITH

UNHCR

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

BACKGROUND

General

1.

11,700 Vietnamese

resettlement.

Just

refugees

currently

over half (5924)

in

arrivals totalled 2230 (39% less than 1983,

decline of only 11%). 3694 we re resettled

1984

in Hong Kong awaiting

closed centres.

compared with regional outside Hong Kong, of

which 1541 went to the US, 1008 to Canada, 736

736 to Australia and 88

to the UK.

Recent Ministerial contact with UNHCR

2.

Mr

Raison

me t

Mr Moussalli

(Director for International

Protection) and Anvar (then Chief

(then Chief of the South and East Asia Section

of UNHCR) in March 1984 in Geneva (Geneva telno 154).

Resettlement

3.

occasions expressed concern

at

UNHCR officials have on several

the UK's refusal to take more refugees, and have emphasised difficulty of persuading other countries to take more from Hong Kong

in the absence of a lead from UK.

Repatriation

4.

Background to this subject is contained in paragraphs 16-19 and 25(a) of the attached policy paper, a copy of which has been already

submitted separately to Mr Luce.

recommendations

based

5. We shall shortly be submitting to Mr Luce

on the options described in the paper. The recommendations will need to be discussed between departments here, but one may be that

HMA Hanoi should be instructed to approach the Vietnamese to discuss

the possibility of involuntary repatriation on an exploratory,

non-committal basis. Ideally, we should have preferred UNHCR to

take this initiative. However they are unlikely to be willing to do

although we asked Mr Hartling to raise the subject of

SO:

CONFIDENTIAL