Vietnamese Refugees
18 DECEMBER 1987
in places of first asylum, but then not by other countries for resettlement. That is often because their motivation for leaving Vietnam is perceived-with some justification. I must say to the economic rather than political. However, the implications of those people for the places of first asylum are obvious. The places of first asylum bear
increasingly heavy burden.
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Hong Kong is only too aware of that. From 1979 until this year the number of Vietnamese refugees in camps in Hong Kong fell. However, the numbers are again on the increase. My hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury quoted the figures, which tell their own story. That trend extends wider than Hong Kong. It is a regional problem that demands an international solution.
We hear much of the suffering caused by natural disasters. What is shocking about the refugee problem is that it is entirely man-made. It is important to make it absolutely clear-as both my hon. Friends the Members for Eddisbury and for Beckenham did—that the root cause of the refugee problem in Indo-China lies in Hanoi, It lies in the repressive policies of a Government who maintain the fourth largest army in the world while continuing to devote their scarce resources to the military occupation of Cambodia and yet lamentably fail to provide a decent life for their own people. That is a sad commentary on Communist priorities.
My hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury drew attention to the efforts of successive British Governments to resettle Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong. He referred to some of the figures, and I believe that they deserve to be repeated. Since 1975, we have accepted some 20,000 Indo-Chinese refugees, and nearly 13,000 of them were Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong. That is a substantial commitment which reflects our special responsibilities for the territory. It is an honourable record, especially when we take into account the pressures that we also face to settle immigrants from other parts of the world.
My hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury referred to the resettlement offer that we made in 1985. Further to that, in May this year, as he also noted, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced that we would accept a further 468 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong with relatives in this country. So far this year, 150 refugees have been resettled under this programme. The pace at which it is being implemented will facilitate the reception of the refugees by the voluntary agencies and their absorption into the community. We are also making a financial commitment to the upkeep of the refugees in Hong Kong through contributions to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to a voluntary agency working in the camps. I associate the Government with the remarks made by my hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury about the major role placed by voluntary agencies.
My hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury asked about the availability of suitable accommodation in this country. The resettlement of refugees in Britain is primarily a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, but my understanding is that in one way or another the reception of refugees puts considerable demands on local resources. We judge that a gradual flow of around 20 people a month is to be most easily handled. The voluntary agencies here at home have an important role to play, and the Government ensure that they receive adequate financial support.
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I should also pay tribute to the contribution of the Hong Kong Government. My hon. Friend has noted Hong Kong's particular generosity in offering local. resettlement. I believe that that is a significant and praiseworthy contribution by a small and overcrowded territory. However, I note that my hon. Friend has suggested some relaxation of the criteria applied, and, of course, I shall draw that to the attention of the Hong Kong Government.
The contribution of Hong Kong does not end there. My hon. Friend has also noted the generous financial contribution made by the Hong Kong Government, and their readiness to accept every refugee who seeks help. That is a humanitarian record of which the Hong Kong Government can be justly proud.
I said that an international commitment was required. My hon. Friend asked about the progress that we have made in urging other Governments to accept refugees from Hong Kong. We keep in close touch with all the Governments who in the past have taken refugees from Hong Kong, and we are deeply grateful for the contribution that they have made. We are now urging them vigorously to follow our recent initiative, and agree to accept more refugees. We also work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and my hon. Friend is quite right in saying that he gives priority to the resettlement of refugees from Hong Kong. He is in contact with many Governments who seek his advice when allocating their refugees resettlement quotas.
Our diplomatic campaign for further resettlement places for refugees from Hong Kong is a major priority for us, but let no one underestimate the difficulties. Some replies give us cause for encouragement: some additional places have been offered as a result of our representations. Often, however, the response is disappointing. I have already said that some resettlement countries now apply more restrictive criteria when considering Vietnamese for resettlement. Yet those refugees have all been accepted in good faith, and without distinction, by places of first asylum on the basis of the consensus reached at the 1979 Geneva conference.
We acknowledge with gratitude the contributions that the resettlement countries have already made, but I assure the House that we shall be redoubling our efforts to persuade them to show even greater generosity in the future. As I said earlier, we consider that our latest decision to accept a further 468 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong with family ties here represents a significant continuing commitment to Hong Kong, given the immigration pressures that we face from elsewhere.
While I deeply sympathise with Hong Kong's problems, and with the plight of the refugees themselves, I have to say that at this stage our resettlement commitments have been extended as far as possible. I do not think that at present we can announce any further
moves.
Both my hon. Friends the Members for Eddisbury and for Beckenham have referred to the possibility of permanent resettlement for Vietnamese refugees in the south-east Asia region. We have considered the idea carefully in the past, and have also taken informal soundings of the Governments who might be involved. I have to say that that has led us to conclude that no country in the region would be receptive to the idea of accommodating large numbers of refugees from Hong
Kong.
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