TNAG-1972-FCO40-2805-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1989 — Page 102

satisfactory resolution of the refugee situation will be an

important factor in improving regional relationships.

If however, the ASEAN countries see the resolution of the

above issues as the primary responsibility of the international

community, then perhaps consideration should be given to an

alternative arrangement by which the UNHCR would take on the

authority for status determination and protection for asylum

seekers in the region. Such an alternative, though, would

detract from efforts to gain the full participation of both ASEAN

and Vietnam in achieving solutions to what is very much a

regional, as well as international, problem.

While taking into account the historical difficulties and

the potential pitfalls inherent in such an undertaking, immediate

efforts to establish a standard refugee status determination

process in the region should be seen as essential. The objective

in this is not only to deter the mass exodus of non-refugee

migrants but more importantly, to safeguard asylum and

protection rights for bona fide refugees who will still be in

desperate need of such protection for the foreseeable future.

Such a process, if fairly administered, would permit a more

rational framework for handling refugee matters in Southeast

Asia, in a manner consistent with international refugee

protection and human rights instruments in effect in other parts

of the world.

19