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14-2
thelath
Found intevert
thoughts.
CB 28/7
M T Trevan Esq
UND
FCO
दिन
IR on 243) General
Your reference
Our reference
JV & me 248°
+ BU
Den Tim, R plaaw PB рад
Date
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: SEARCH FOR DURABLE SOLUTIONS
1. Please refer to my letter of 11 July.
2.
UN 243/1
22 July 1986
HKK 243/3
RECEIVEN • REGISTRY
2 1 AUG 1986
REGISTRY
Action Taken
My Australian colleague has now given me the paper - copy enclosed prepared by the Australians for the meeting of the Honolulu group and UNHCR in June.
3. This paper, which reflects the discussions of the previous meeting in Canberra in December 1985, was used, together with the Ray Panel report, as a focus for the June meeting's discussions.
4. My Australian colleague sees the next step as consideration by
Mr Hocke, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, of this paper and the Ray Panel report and to suggest a proposed course of action for discussion (between UNHCR and major resettlement countries).
5. Mr Hocke had apparently told the meeting that persons now leaving Vietnam fell between the definition of refugees under the 1951 Convention and economic migrants. The government representatives at the meeting did not agree: the US in particular apparently maintained these persons were not 1951 Convention refugees.
6. My colleague drew my attention to the fact that Australia had already been encouraging countries of first asylum in the region to approach the Vietnamese government with the message that enough is enough; third country resettlement is declining and countries of first asylum are getting tired of the "long-stayer" problem. She cited the recent talks of the Australian Minister of Immigration in Djakarta and Kuala Lumpur as an example. She also told me that she understood that Malaysia was considering calling (through UNHCR?) for a conference to be held in Geneva to apply pressure on Vietnam to solve the problem.
7.
My colleague saw a further problem arising if the US Orderly Departure Programme (ODP) should collapse: she felt this was sure to cause illegal departures to increase drastically.
8.
Finally, she also drew my attention to the Australian government's recent decision not to take 67 of the 144 refugees rescued by the Greek ship
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