TNAG-1972-FCO40-2805-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1989 — Page 98

Orderly Departure Program

In reality, the avenues by which Vietnamese can leave their

native country outside of clandestine refugee channels are still

fairly limited. The UNHCR-sponsored Orderly Departure Program

(ODP) has facilitated the safe migration of some 130,000

Vietnamese to Western countries since its inception in 1979.

However, an expansion of the program to make it a widely

accessible and effective alternative to clandestine boat

departures has been severely hindered by bureaucratic and

logistical bottlenecks and more significantly, by political

and diplomatic differences between Vietnam and the receiving

countries. Until the recent shift in the temporary asylum

policies of countries in the region, the prospect of relatively

easier access to third-country refugee resettlement made the

risks of clandestine flight an acceptable alternative to those

whose hopes for legal migration were frustrated.

The goal of expansion of the ODP must be an essential

centerpiece of any new initiatives to be undertaken.

It is hoped

that, if properly managed and made widely accessible, this

program would become the primary means of exit for persons

wishing to emigrate from Vietnam. As such, it could promise to

become a truly effective alternative (and deterrent) to dangerous

clandestine boat and overland departures. To achieve this goal

will require the devotion of considerable resources and sustained

political will on the part of the countries concerned.

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