TNAG-1541-FCO40-2105-Further-resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-i-1986 — Page 47

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HONG KONG'S POLICY ON SCREENING AND REPATRIATING ARRIVALS FROM

VIETNAM

8. ON 15 JANUARY 1985, MEMBERS CONSIDERED XCC (85)4 WHICH PROPOSED THAT FROM A DATE TO BE DECIDED, ALL NEW ARRIVALS FROM VIETNAM

SHOULD BE SCREENED TO DETERMINE THOSE WHO WERE REFUGEES AND THOSE

WHO WERE NOT. THE SCREENING PROCESS WOULD BE SUBJECT TO APPEAL

TO AN INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY (POSSIBLY UNHCR) AND WOULD BE MONITORED BY THE UNHCR. THOSE FOUND NOT TO BE REFUGEES WOULD BE REPATRIATED

TO VIETNAM PROVIDED THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM WOULD ACCEPT

THEM AND THEY WOULD NOT BE TREATED INHUMANELY ON THEIR RETURN.

THE RELEVANT EXTRACT FROM GCC(85)4 IS AT ANNEX A AND MEMBERS

ADVISED AND THE GOVERNOR ORDERED:

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(A) THAT THE POLICY ON REPATRIATION, OUTLINED IN PARAGRAPH

14 OF THE MEMORANDUM, SHOULD BE ENDORSED IN PRINCIPLE, SUBJECT

TO FURTHER CONSULTATION WITH HMG: AND

(B)

THAT THE POLICY ON THE INTRODUCTION OF A SCREENING

PROCEDURE, OUTLINED IN PARAGRAPHS 15-21 OF THE MEMORANDUM, SHOULD NOT BE INTRODUCED, BUT, AS PROPOSED IN PARAGRAPH 22

OF THE MEMORANDUM, SHOULD BE RECOMMENDED FOR INCLUSION AS A

FUTURE POLICY OPTION IN THE SUBMISSION TO MINISTERS ON THE

VIETNAMESE REFUGEE PROBLEM NOW BEING PREPARED BY THE FCO.

MINISTERS HAVE CONSIDERED REPATRIATION ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

IN LATE 1985 THEY CONSIDERED THAT THE TIME WAS NOT RIGHT FOR AN

APPROACH TO THE VIETNAMESE ON THIS MATTER. THEY CONSIDERED THAT

THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS WERE SLIM AND THAT PUBLIC OPINION IN THE

UNITED KINGDOM WOULD NOT SUPPORT SUCH AN APPROACH.

10. SINCE 1985, ON THE THAI/LAOTIAN BORDER, THE ROYAL THAI

GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN SCREENING THOSE ARRIVING INTO REFUGEES AND

NON-REFUGEES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE UNHCR WITH WHOM APPEALS

MAY BE LODGED. ALTHOUGH THE GOVERNMENT OF LAOS HAS AGHEED IN

PRINCIPLE ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS TO ACCEPT THE NON-REFUGEES

FOR REPATRIATION, NONE HAVE YET BEEN REPATRIATED. BUT THE EFFECT

OF THE SCREENING ALONE HAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED ILLEGAL MOVEMENTS

ACROSS THE MEKONG RIVER.

11. DURING THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE UNHCR IN GENEVA

IN EARLY OCTOBER THIS YEAR, MANY DELEGATES REFERRED TO THE NEED TO

RE-EXAMINE THE UNHCR'S 1951 DEFINITION OF REFUGEE STATUS IN THE

LIGHT OF CONTEMPORARY ILLEGAL MASS MOVEMENTS. IN THE MARGINS,

THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE DISCUSSION ON SCREENING, FOCUSSING IN

PARTICULAR ON HOW THOSE SCREENED OUT SHOULD BE TREATED. BUT THE

UNHCR DOES NOT SUPPORT THE CONCEPT OF INVOLUNTARY REPATRIATION AND

THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT HAS INDICATED THAT IT WILL ONLY CONSIDER

REPATRIATION ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.

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CONFIDENTIAL

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