TNAG-1800-FCO40-2560-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-principle-of-first-asylum-1988 — Page 88

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The Australians have given us a briefing on the informal meeting of First Asylum countries held in Cha-am last month, under the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation. The Australians commented that while there were no surprises, the conference had been useful exercise in bringing together for the first time all the First Asylum countries to discuss the Vietnamese Boat People problem. The meeting had served to remind all concerned of the regional nature of the problem, and the impact on other countries in the region of action taken by individual First Asylum countries.

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V. tatemarlite!

There appear to have been four main topics at the conference, namely: resettlement, screening, source country responsibility (including the question of ODP) and the principle of continued First Asylum. According to the Australians, several of the more hard line countries

(Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia) had questioned the principle of First Asylum. These countries voiced their belief that the agreements reached in the 1979 Geneva Conference on Vietnamese refugees no longer held good. The resettlement countries were not responding to the change in the nature of the problem, and drastic action was needed. However, Mr Upton (leading the Hong Kong delegation) had steered the conference off this dangerous path. His advancement of what he described as а

'minimilist' approach to the refugee problem received wide-spread support :

was generally accepted that the principle of First Aslyum should be retained, although there had to be changes in the way the refugees were dealt with. This line of debate led to the adoption by the conference of a package of measures designed to meet First Aslyum concerns, as well as the humanitarian concerns of the major resettlement countries. (The US had, according to the Australians, at one stage implied that withdrawal of First Asylum would lead to their withdrawing undertakings to resettle Indo-Chinese refugees.) Broadly, the package which emerged envisioned introduction of screening; repatriation of those 'screened out'; firm undertakings by resettlement countries to offer permanent asylum for those successful in the screening process; an enhanced orderly departure programme (ODP) from Vietnam; and a

commitment from Vietnam to try and stem the tide of people leaving illegally. Linked to the package were proposals to obtain from resettlement countries further undertakings to accept those currently in holding camps, particularly the 'long stayers'. (The Australians would be unhappy at providing the sort of commitment on resettlement emanating from the conference.)

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