TNAG-1531-FCO40-2095-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1987 — Page 5

1 basically a problem of quite a number of government to take an

2 initial position. Let it just be said that as a matter of principle

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UNHCR does consider voluntary repatriation to the home country when- ever that is possible as what I would call the natural solution, yet everyone also knows and will understand that the necessary conditions have to be created so that people may and basically will elect freely to go back and that whenever they go back, condition under which they could start new lives would be guaranteed. This is not only true

find

here in the area, this is true for the main refugee caseload you for instance in Africa. Think of the large number of people sitting, for instance, in Somalia or in Sudan. I spoke just before about this 12 three million or so Afghan refugees sitting in Pakistan and for them, 13 you know, most certainly that this specific problem of their return to 14 Afghanistan is one of the main point negotiated presently within the

overall settlement or attempt of settlement in Afghanistan.

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So that

16 certainly as a matter of principle, as I said, my office always

considers repatriation as one of the few solutions which have to be pursued and yet this solution or this very solution has to be implemented under strict conditions.

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QUESTION:

(by Robert MacPherson of Agence France Presse) Do you think the time has come maybe to redefine the term "refugee" as it is known in the U.N. Charter, to perhaps expand it to include those people who leave on account of incredible economic hardship?

MR HOCKE:

Well, to redefine certainly not since I

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feel that the initial definition is still in very many instances a very valid one. This definition, without going into the details, does

of individuals privilege if I may say so the criteria of persecution for their belief on ideological ground or religious one, and this has

Since then we, I think, have to been defined as such in 1951. recognise that at least another important factor, or criteria, really is to be found as a root cause of people leaving their country and this

I think this is the very reason why the is a criteria of violence.

0.A.U. for instance in 1969 came out with its own definition, adding to

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