TNAG-1793-FCO40-2553-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 210

མཚབ་དAN ---D

RESTRICTED

124503

MDHIAN 2957

ACCEPTABLE

5. UNHCR IS PRESENTLY INVOLVED IN THESE NEGOTIATIONS AIMING

INTER-ALIA (UNDERLINED) TO PREPARE THE GROUND FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION

OF A SOUND PROGRAMME OF ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION WITH THE

POSSIBILITY OF RETURN FOR THE NON-REFUGEE CASES UNDER

CONDITIONS. ON 16 MAY, THE HIGH COMMISSIONER WROTE TO THE SRV VICE-PRIME MINISTER, MR NGUYEN CO THACH AND A SRV DELEGATION HEADED BY AMBASSADOR, HA VAN LAU SUBSEQUENTLY COMPLETED AN IMPORTANT ROUND OF TALKS ON THIS AND RELATED SUBJECTS IN GENEVA.

6.

GIVEN THE VOLATILE ASYLUM SITUATION PRESENLTY PREVAILING, UNILATERAL INITIATIVES TAKEN BY GOVERNMENTS MAY GENERATE DYNAMICS

WITHIN THE REGION WHICH COULD SERIOUSLY COMPROMISE THE COLLECTIVE

EFFORTS TO ARRIVE AT A CO-ORDINATED SOLUTION. IT WAS IN THIS SPIRIT THAT WHEN THE UK MISSION IN GENEVA INFORMALLY SOUNDED UNHCR ON THE

SUBJECT OF SCREENING IN HONG KONG, THE HIGH COMMISSIONER REQUESTED

NEGOTIATIONS.

TIME TO COMPLETE THE PRESENT

7. THE ABOVE NOT WITH STANDING UNHCR SUPPORTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE THE

PRINCIPLE OF ESTABLISHMENT BY GOVERNEMNTS OF PROPER REFUGEE STATUS DETERMINATION PROCEDURES. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HAS FORMALLY

ENCOURAGED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCH PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO BASIC

SAFEGUARDS AS SET OUT IN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONCLUSIONS NOS 8

(XXVIII) AND 30 (XXXIV). IN THIS CONTEXT, UNHCR NOTES THE INTENTION OF THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENTS TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE

WITH A TWO-TIERED STRUCTURE INVOLVING DETERMINATION AT A FIRST LEVEL

WITH A RIGHT TO APPEAL NEGATIVE DECISIONS.

8. THE DECISION OF THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENTS TO

.

II SCREEN' ALL FUTURE ARRIVALS FROM VIETNAM IS UNDERSTOOD AS A

PROPOSAL TO INSTITUTE INDIVIDUAL ELIGIBILITY PROCEDURES FOR ALL

VIETNAMESE WHO SEEK ASYLUM IN HONG KONG. IF THIS IS CORRECT, UNHCR

WOULD PROPOSE THAT THE INTENDED PROCEDURE BE REFERRED TO AND IMPLEMENTED AS A REFUGEE STATUS DETERMINATION. PROCEDURE, AS THE USE OF THE TERM SCREENING'' MAY IMPLY SOMETHING LESS THAN A FORMAL DETERMINATION OF REFUGEE STATUS ON THE BASIS OF THE RELEVANT FACTS AND ALL APPROPIATE CRETERIA.

9. IN VIEW OF THE HUMANITARIAN PRACTICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN RESPONDING TO THE INDOCHINESE EXODUS SINCE 1975, IT IS ALSO PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT THAT THE CRITERIA DEVELOPED FOR ANY

ELIGIBILITY PROCEDURE SHOULD INCORPORATE THE HUMANITARIAN AND FAMILY

REUNIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY REFLECTED

IN OTHER REGIONAL INITIATIVES TO RESPOND TO THIS PROBLEM.

2

PAGE

RESTRICTED

Page 210Page 211