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We would ask the Vietnamese delegation if they could explain why these delays are occurring. We hope that our two sides will be able to work together to improve procedures and to speed up the departures.
In this context I would like to emphasise one important difference between the UK ODP programme and some others. Candidates for the UK ODP presented to the Vietnamese authorities already have entry clearance for the UK. The Vietnamese authorities therefore have a relatively straightforward decision to make; either to allow a candidate to depart, or not.
I would like to confirm that the UK shares the concerns expressed by others that the current reduction in departures under ODP may lead to an increase in illegal departures. For this reason, we would urge the Vietnamese authorities to do whatever is possible to get the ODP back on course (i.e. to return to the pre-1986 levels of departures).
Wider Issues
We would also like to raise some wider issues. We noted with interest the Vietnamese representative's statement at the recent meeting of the UNHCR Executive Committee. In this he mentioned that the Vietnamese Government would be prepared to consider, in consultation with asylum countries, some ways of securing the best possible voluntary return to Vietnam of certain Vietnamese refugees who could be satisfactorily re-integrated.
We for our part consider that third country resettlement can only be a partial solution and that the ideal remains for many of those who have left Vietnam to be able to return. But this must be under acceptable conditions and with verifiable guarantees. We would therefore like to know if the Minister could give us the Vietnamese Government's views on this issue and, in particular, on exactly how such returnees would be re-integrated.
Further discussion
Finally, may I add, as we said last year, that the British Ambassador and his staff in Hanoi remain, as always, ready to discuss in detail these and other matters concerning ODP with the Vietnamese authorities.
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