TNAG-1794-FCO40-2554-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 9

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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FM UKMIS GENEVA

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 400

OF 141044Z JULY 88

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S23

HKD 243/8

RECEIVE! REGIS

14 JUL 1988

CEF

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053632

MDHIAN 7174

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INFO IMMEDIATE HANOI, HONG KONG

INFO PRIORITY BANGKOK, KUALA LUMPUR, SINGAPORE, JARKARTA, MANILA INFO PRIORITY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

INFO ROUTINE CANBERRA, OTTAWA, TOKYO, WASHINGTON

SIS

YOUR TELNO 189: VIETNAMESE BOAT-PEOPLE: UNHCR TALKS WITH VIETNAM

1. AS REPORTED IN OUR TELNO 385, UNHCR IS HOSTING A MEETING IN BANGKOK ON 18/19 JULY OF ASEAN COUNTRIES AND HONG KONG, IN ADVANCE OF UNHCR VISIT TO HANOI LATER THAT WEEK.

2. DETAILED AGENDA OF BANGKOK MEETING IS AS FOLLOWS:

1) POSSIBILITIES OF A REGION-WIDE SCREENING PROCEDURE

2) BRIEFING BY UNHCR ON CRITERIA AND MODALITIES OF SCREENING, AS WELL AS BRIEFING ON LAOTIAN EXPERIENCE.

3) PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS ON MODALITIES OF RETURN OF SCREENED-OUT.

4) FOLLOW-UP REQUEST BY ASEAN COUNTRIES FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE.

5) DISCUSSIONS ON FUTURE FORUM/ METHODS OF CONSULTATION INVOLVING ASEAN, RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES, COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN AND UNHCR.

3. VIEIRA DE MELLO, ELABORATING ON ABOVE AGENDA, SAID THAT UNHCR DID NOT WISH TO PROVIDE THE SECRETARIAT OR BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONVENING CONSULTATIONS AS ENVISAGED AT ITEM 5 OF AGENDA. THEY WOULD OF COURSE PLAY A FULL PART.

4. IN HANOI, IN ADDITION TO DISCUSSING RELEVANT POINTS ON AGENDA OF BANGKOK MEETING, UNHCR WOULD PURSUE ALL POINTS IN CO THACH'S LETTER TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL, IN PARTICULAR

(A) CLARIFICATION OF WHAT VIETNAM MEANS BY STRICTLY VOLUNATARY RETURN. UNHCR EMPHASISED THAT THE CONCEPT OF ''VOLUNTARY RETURN'' WAS NOT APPLICABLE TO THOSE SCREENED-OUT (ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS). THEY

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