TNAG-1531-FCO40-2095-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1987 — Page 1

Date:

15.9.86

Time:

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4.45 pm

Reporter:

PMS

INLE

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PRESS CONFERENCE:

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FICER

REGISTRY

PA

Action Taken

Mon 7/1

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

MR PINKSTONE:

I would like to introduce you to

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr Jean-Pierre

5 Hocke; the UNHCR Head, Regional Bureau for East and South Asia and

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Oceania, Mr Hormann-Herimberg; and the Hong Kong representative,

Charge de Mission for Hong Kong, Mr Fazlul Karim. We will start off with Mr Hocke who will make a short statement first and there

will be a period for questions afterwards. If each of the press

could identify themselves when they ask questions that would help tremendously. Unfortunately Mr Hocke has another engagement later

so there will be no individual interviews after this.

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(Short interval for press photographs)

MR HOCKE:

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I

wish to welcome you to this meeting and thank you for being here. 18 Actually I am completing a tour of Asia. Since I have taken office

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in January I felt that I had absolutely during the first year of my 20 assuming office to go to the main area where UNHCR has operation and

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since last April I went to Pakistan where three million Afghan

22 refugees are looked after. Then in June I went to the Horn of Africa.

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Now I am on a tour of Asia which led me to Bangkok, from Bangkok to

24 Japan, to China, and now to Hong Kong. Later in the year in November

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I will go to Central America so that, without saying that these are the only places where we have unfortunately something to do, they are 27 at least one of the main area where we do operate and where quite a 28 number of the 10 million refugees UNHCR is taking care of are to be 29 found.

While being in Thailand and while being here in Hong Kong, likewise in China, I try to the maximum to go to the field, to go to the camps, to see for myself what the situation was since unlike you 32 it is of course very difficult to know not only what is going on but 33 possibly in terms of solution or improved conditions what is needed. 34 So that I would maybe invite you without further delay to put your 35 questions since the whole refugee situation having been with you and 36 with us for so long now, it is certainly more than well known to you

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VERBATIM REPORTERS

HONG KONG

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