TNAG-1534-FCO40-2098-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1986 — Page 66

CONFIDENTIAL

8.

We shall have subsequently to consider how and when

to bring in the countries of first asylum, who are themselves increasingly concerned by the prospect of being

caught between an undiminished outflow from Vietnam and

increasing compassion fatigue in the resettlement

countries. (This could possibly be some time in early 1987.)

9.

In the first instance our efforts within the group

will be very exploratory, directed at establishing what common ground might exist. We may find that the following views are quite widely shared:

10.

in the

(i) the great majority of those now leaving

Vietnam are not refugees as defined

as

1951 Convention;

(ii) some criteria may need to be established to

distinguish between true refugees and the

rest in their reception and treatment: but

the outcome of any such "screening" should

not simply be to increase the burden of

"non-refugees" on places of first asylum (including Hong Kong);

also

(iii) the govenments concerned (and preferably

the UNHCR) should collectively

establish contact with the Vietnamese

Government

to

discuss

the

issue

of

emigration from Vietnam and to explore the

scope for cooperation over it.

As I explained in my earlier submission, a logical

subject to

to be explored, if this collective dialogue with

the Vietnamese can be established, would be international arrangements whereby economic refugees would be returned to

Vietnam under guarantees that they would not be subjected

to harsh treatment on their return. We cannot tell at this

stage how far our contacts with other governments will take

CONFIDENTIAL