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UK STATEMENT AT UNHCR MEETING WITH A VIETNAMESE
DELEGATION ON THE QUESTION OF THE ORDERLY
DEPARTURE PROGRAMME: 3 NOVEMBER 1986
LIKKE 043/3.
Opening remarks
RECEIVED AND REGISTRY
- 3 DEC 1986
FICER
PA
Thanks to the UNHCR for arranging the meeting- which gives us a further opportunity to discuss the Orderly Departure Programme with the delegation from The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The British authorities welcome these annual exchanges of views on the Programme which retains our firm support. Past exchanges have been frank and constructive: and we hope this spirit will continue. We are not of course seeking to tell the Vietnamese government how to proceed. But where there are problems we think it right and helpful to draw attention to them.
General
REGISTRY Action Taken
smek
712
We must remember that the ODP was established with humanitarian aspects uppermost in mind. It is important that in our discussions the humanitarian component in the programme should not be overlooked.
Rate of departures
The British Government maintain their commitment to accept family reunion cases under the ODP. However, we are troubled about one difficulty which the UK is experiencing with the programme.
As we mentioned last year, we are concerned at the lower rate in departures to the UK under the ODP: this rate has continued to fall this year from 70 in April to 4 in July. Although there has traditionally been a fall-off in departures to the UK over the summer, there are no signs at present that the UK ODP is picking up again. The British government has issued around 200 Visa Promises letters over the past year, but only half of these have been taken up. A total of 2,000 Visa Promises letters are currently outstanding, many since 1983. We regret that people whom we are able to accept in Britain are being denied the opportunity to leave Vietnam for Britain because of what appear to be procedural difficulties.
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