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Root Cause
9.
Continuing need to point out where root cause of problem lies
ie Hanoi Government. Mr Luce made this point during the 14 and 24
May adjournment debates on South East Asian refugees. UK
representative at this year's session of Human Rights Commission
referred to human rights abuses in Vietnam.
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H
Durable Solutions
10. Mr Hartling wrote to Dame Anne Warburton on 3 May providing a
situation report on Indo-Chinese refugees. While pointing out that
much had been done in receiving 1.1 million refugees from Indo-China
during the past 10 years, there was a continuing problem of
long-stayers among some 160,000 refugees still in camps in the area.
He urged an "exceptional effort" from the international community to
deal with this.
11. The durable solutions available, as defined by UNHCR are:
i)
Repatriation
ii)
Local/regional integration
iii) Resettlement.
We agree with UNHCR that resettlement the least satisfactory option.
But we have continuing international commitment to resettle family
reunion and ship rescue cases.
Repatriation
12.
UNHCR hold the view that (voluntary) repatriation is the ideal
solution. We agree.
Problem is that in the case of Vietnam there
have been almost no volunteers. Involuntary repatriation out of the
question given absence of reliable assurances from Vietnam. The
Secretary of State has decided that the subject should not be raised with the Vietnamese at present.
13. In his 3 May letter Mr Hartling mentioned the new Thai
screening procedure for Laotians, in which, UNHCR will have an
observer role. We should ask Mr Hartling about this programme given its relevance to proposals for screening in Hong Kong. (UNHCR have run a voluntary repatriation programme to Laos in which over 2,000
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/Laotians
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