TNAG-1905-FCO40-2709-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-voluntary-and-mandatory-repat-1989 — Page 91

On the regional facility, the Thai delegation proposed that

cases from Singapore should, in principle, be shared among the four

participating ASEAN states, on the understanding that the receiving

state would be compensated in accordance with the earlier Note

submitted by UNHCR. Pending consultations among the ASEAN

governments on this aspect, UNHCR was asked to submit a detailed

proposal on the procedure to be used for handling rescue at sea cases

disembarked in Singapore.

There was consensus that those rescue at sea cases disembarked

in Singapore since the ICIR against resettlement guarantees by

individual countries will nevertheless be dealt with on the basis of

the new collective arrangement to be set up for Singapore, if this is

possible within the 90-day period that these cases were permitted to

remain in Singapore. It was recognised that this would serve to

fully maintain resettlement commitments to the CPA by those countries

that made these commitments on the assumption that their special

responsibility vis a vis rescue at sea cases would be terminated upon

the adoption of the CPA.

It was recognised that the utmost urgency is required of all

parties concerned in setting up a new arrangement for rescue at sca

cases to be disembarked in Singapore.