TNAG-1796-FCO40-2556-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 132

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COZAEN

нко 243/8

RECEIV

CINE

-6 SEP 1988

ICER

PA

– så tysk BANG

الداء

Mr McLaren

Minute

Private Secretary

CONFIDENTIAL

FROM:

DATE:

- SEP 1988 CC:

9

8

12

65

2

CO Hum

(124 Secretory of State

Rolya

Hong Kong Department

1 September 1988 PS/Lord Glenarthur

PS/Mr Patten

PS/Mr Eggar

PS/PUS

Mr Fifoot, Legal Advisers

Mr Gillmore

Mr Colvin, SEAD

Mr Williams, UND

Mr Graham-Harrison, ODA

Mr Machin, ODA

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG

E

1.

Please refer to Mr Perce's minute of 30 August, recording questions from the Secretary of State about my submission of 25 August. I shall take them in turn.

Operation of a Repatriation Programme

2.

Consideration of the operation of a possible repatriation programme is at a very early stage. However some months ago the governments of the main resettlement countries commissioned preliminary work from UNHCR, which took the form of the attached "conceptual paper". The UNHCR have in mind a programme of reintegration assistance which would be strictly limited in scope, along the following lines:

aid would be non-developmental and humanitarian in character in principle it would not directly benefit the Vietnamese

Government

it should be of such a nature as not to encourage departures or re-departures.

CONFIDENTIAL