TNAG-1546-FCO40-2110-International-Committee-of-the-Red-Cross-(ICRC)-proposal-to--1986 — Page 47

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KONG AS THE MOST LIKELY SPOT.

3.

THE NEW REGIONAL DELEGATION WOULD COVER THE ICRC'S

ACTIVITIES UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS, INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE,

VISITS TO VIETNAMESE PRISONERS OF WAR HELD IN CHINA, AS WELL AS

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE ICRC, INCLUDING DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW. THE BASIC AIM WAS

TO STRENGTHEN THE ICRC'S RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS AND NATIONAL

RED CROSS SOCIETIES IN THE COUNTRIES CONCERNED.

4.

KUNG ADDED THAT THE ICRC HAD ALREADY TAKEN INFORMAL

SOUNDINGS OF MANY OF THE GOVERNMENTS AND NATIONAL SOCIETIES AND

THERE HAD BEEN NO OBJECTION TO THE IDEA OF THEIR SETTING UP A

REGIONAL DELEGATION IN HONG KONG. HE CONFIRMED THAT THESE

SOUNDINGS HAD INCLUDED PEKING. THE HONG KONG RED CROSS SOCIETY

AND THE BRITISH RED CROSS WERE ALSO SAID TO BE CONTENT.

5.

AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND THE ICRC THOUGHT THE TIME HAD NOW

COME TO MAKE A FORMAL APPROACH TO HMG TO SEEK OUR AGREEMENT IN

PRINCIPLE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A REGIONAL DELEGATION IN HONG

KONG. HENCE HIS PLANNED CALL ON YOU. I COMMENTED THAT WHILE IT

WAS RIGHT TO MAKE THIS INITIAL APPROACH IN LONDON, I THOUGHT THAT

THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WOULD WANT TO BE FULLY ASSOCIATED WITH

SUCH A DECISION (AND FOR THIS REASON I AM COPYING THIS TELELETTER

TO THE POLITICAL ADVISER).

6.

KUNG SAID THAT IF HMG (AND HONG KONG) WERE CONTENT WITH

THE PROPOSAL IN PRINCIPLE, HE WOULD ALSO WANT TO HAVE AN INITIAL

DISCUSSION OF THE MODALITIES WITH YOU. WOULD WE, FOR EXAMPLE,

WANT TO NEGOTIATE A SEPARATE QUOTE ACCORD DE SIEGE UNQUOTE? OR

WOULD THE ICRC SIMPLY BE GOVERNED BY EXISTING LEGISLATION AND

REGULATIONS GOVERNING COMPARABLE ORGANISATIONS? THE LEGAL STATUS

(QUOTE OR PERSONALITY UNQUOTE) OF THEIR OFFICE WOULD NEED TO BE

DETERMINED. IT SOUNDED TO ME AS IF THEY WANTED QUASI-DIPLOMATIC

STATUS, WITH EXEMPTION FROM LOCAL LEGAL PROCEEDINGS FOR THEIR

OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES AND IMMUNITY FOR THEIR COMMUNICATIONS.

7.

KUNG ADDED THAT IF WE WERE CONTENT WITH THE ICRC'S

PROPOSAL, AND THE DETAILS HAD BEEN SORTED OUT IN TIME, THEY HAD

HOPED TO OPEN THE REGIONAL DELEGATION IN HONG KONG IN THE SPRING

NEXT YEAR. KUNG HIMSELF WOULD BECOME THE FIRST REGIONAL DELEGATE

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