CATAFC
CONFIDENTIAL
UNHCR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (EXCOM): GENEVA 6-13 OCTOBER
BRIEF NO
7
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
Points to Make with Members of "Honolulu Group" (ie delegations of
Australia, Canada, Japan and US
1.
jointly and
We would welcome opportunity to consider
informally with main resettlement countries and UNHCR what might be
done to resolve problem of continuing outflow from Vietnam.
2.
Remain very concerned about the continuing outflow "boat
people" from Vietnam.
In particular, despite continuing
resettlement, new arrivals continue to swell numbers in the Hong
Kong camps. Hong Kong's arrival rate this year is nearly double the
rate of last year
last year (1812 January-August 1986 compared with 875 same period 1985). of Hong Kong's present camp population of 8515 (1 September), 64% have been there for over three years.
3.
Problem not one affecting Hong Kong only: HMG are also concerned at accelerating "compassion fatigue" and general destabilising effect of unresettlable Indochinese in camps in places
of first asylum throughout Southeast Asia.
4.
Further problem is that some resettlement countries are now
refusing to regard many of those in Hong Kong as "true refugees" but
consider them rather as "economic migrants", and thus will not
include them in their resettlement programmes.
This creates severe
difficulties for Hong Kong, which is faced with prospect of a large
(and possibly increasing) group of unresettlable refugees
camps.
in its
CONFIDENTIAL
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