established links between first asylum and resettlement.
It is thought by
some that such a link perpetuates rather than limits the outflow.
10. The countries of origin have generally viewed unauthorized departures (and by extension the subsequent granting of first asylum) as being a
At the same time these consequence of years of conflict and destruction. countries have served as receiving countries for refugees from the region.
11. While the practice of first asylum has not always been observed, it continues to enjoy a varying degree of support per se and remains a fundamental element for any comprehensive approach to the humanitarian situation in South-East Asia,
III. The Orderly Departure Programme
12.
The Orderly Departure Programme (ODP), established through a Memorandum of Understanding between SRV and UNHCR in May 1979, was conceived as alternative to unauthorized departures. While close to 150,000 persons have, to date, benefited from this programme, unauthorized departures have continued. This lack of correlation between the two should not necessarily be
Rather, it is due to a range attributed to a shortcoming in the ODP concept.
of procedural and policy reasons.
13.
There remains, nevertheless, a clear consensus that in a broad strategy for the resolution of the humanitarian problems in South-East Asia, the OPP should play a pivotal role. It is foreseen that the objective should be to maximize departures through this channel by creating conditions which would allow all those eligible under refugee and migration criteria of receiving
This would require various countries to opt for this legal channel, readjustments, including notably a harmonization of admission criteria in a way designed to remove the advantage that clandestine departure may offer in terms of faster resettlement; to the extent possible, this adjustment would entail a liberalization of the ODP criteria and an acceleration of procedures.
14. As mentioned, in terms of objectives, no policy differences exist among
The SRV has on number of recent occasions the main parties in this area.
declared its willingness to facilitate the departure of all eligible Vietnamese under this programme. Moreover, parallel arrangements for the
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