TNAG-1800-FCO40-2560-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-principle-of-first-asylum-1988 — Page 111

ра

PRESS RELEASE

жих

243/11

RE:

PERMANENT MISSION OF THAILAND

TO THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN GENEVA

28 b, CH. DU PETIT-SACONNEX - 1209 GENEVA - TEL. (022) 34 20 10/18/20

SEMINAR ON FIRST ASYLUM FOR VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE

A seminar on the Vietnamese boat people bringing together representatives of the countries of first refuge (ASEAN and Hong Kong) was organized by the International Studies Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in Cha-Am, Southern Thailand, on 25-28 May 1988. Also in attendance were observers from the major resettlement countries, the UNHCR and International Voluntary Agencies. A summary of discussions was issued at the conclusion of the seminar as follows:

1.

The seminar took note of the critical situation caused by the increasing exodus of boat people from Vietnam. If this exodus continues unabated, it will create unacceptable political, security, economic and social problems for the countries of first refuge. Immediate action is required by the international community to respond with a greater sense of urgency to what amounts to the gravest Indochinese refugee crisis since 1979.

2.

Greater emphas should be placed on the role of Vietnam as the root cause of the problem and on how to solve it at its source. Vietnam has an obligation both to its own people and to the international community to resolve the problem.

3.

In order to resolve the Vietnamese boat people problem satisfactorily, there is a need for greater efforts and closer cooperative endeavours among all concerned: the country of origin, the countries of first refuge, the resettlement countries, the major donor countries, the international organizations and the non-governmental organizations concerned with the problem.

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