布政司署
香港下亞畢道
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CONFIDENTIAL
170
Security Branch,
GOVERNment SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
6/F,
Dis Walle
ра
24315
7 May 1985.
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Mr. C.E. Leeks,
Hong Kong Government,
FCO.
Dear
coenten,
こ
270
MKK 243/5
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
17 MAY 1985
INDEX
Action Burun
DESK OFFICER
Í REGISTRY
Pi
✓
Thank you for your letter of 19 April passing me
Le
Brian Adams' record of his informal discussion with Dolly Lasan on her recent visit to Geneva. I will of course, treat this in confidence.
For your information, and Brian's (to whom I am copying this letter) I thought that you might like to have my views on the various issues raised by Mrs Lasan.
As regards Jubilee, the UNHCR has been moving painfully slowly in its search for a successor to CARITAS. I have been told by the UNHCR that various voluntary agencies have been rejected by the UNHCR in Hong Kong because "they are too poor". It is not true that CARITAS is relaxed about the date when it will leave Jubilee. I have been told several times that it wishes to leave in the middle of the year (June) and, recently, CARITAS has written to the UNHCR complaining about what it perceives to be lack of progress in finding
a successor.
In the event, while Mrs Lasan was away, and following a considerable amount of promoting and pressure from the US Consulate here, the UNHCR made a strong plea to IRC to take over Jubilee. have also seen copies of telegrams between Hong Kong and Washington attempting to persuade IRC. Signs are quite good, but there is no firm information. I understand that funding is a problem, but that the State Department might be forthcoming.
As regards the initiative to reduce the refugee population in Jubilee, there has been little real success. The Canadians, it is true, did agree to concentrate more on Jubilee and, recently have decided to take another 500 refugees from Hong Kong (bringing their total to 1,100 for the year). However, I have found out from our offices in Europe that several of the Governments there are not aware of the Jubilee initiative. This means that their representatives in Hong Kong have not passed on the message. I view this as a failure on the part of the UNHCR, which merely seems to go through the motions, rather than actually pursuing this worthwhile objective.
In addition, at the subsequent resettlement meeting (held in March), Mrs Lasan after a rather cursory reference to her Jubilee initiative at the previous meeting, announced yet another initiative as part of the International Youth Year. Several of those attending the resettlement meeting told me afterwards that they would find it difficult to explain to their Governments that the UNHCR was serious
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