TNAG-2168-FCO40-3105-House-of-Commons-Foreign-Affairs-Committee-inquiry-into-Hong-1990 — Page 230

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increased and over 1,900 have returned to Vietnam. During his visit

to Vietnam in February, the Minister of State, Mr Francis Maude

achieved agreement that from May 1990 around 1,000 volunteers a month would be accepted back, a sufficient rate of flow, if

maintained, to clear all the non-refugees in Hong Kong in little

over 3 years. The Government also offered to contribute to the cost of a new reception centre near Hanoi to enable the Vietnamese

authorities to reach this target.

32. It has been clear for some time, however, that voluntary

returns alone cannot provide a comprehensive solution to the problems in Hong Kong. The latest evidence shows that only about 2%

have of those screened out as non-refugees willing to volunteer to

return to Vietnam. The Government shares the Committee's view that

in the absence of significant levels of voluntary repatriation,

there is no alternative to the repatriation of those who are

screened out (paragraph 5.4). On 12 December 1989, the Foreign and

Commonwealth Secretary therefore announced the Government's decision

to repatriate 51 Vietnamese boat people who were not refugees, under

a bilateral agreement reached with the Vietnamese Government in June

1989 which guaranteed that returnees would not be punished by the

Vietnamese authorities. No force was used. Two former Ministers

(Lord Ennals and Mr Raison MP) visited Vietnam in January and

confirmed that no force had been used against those returned and

that they had not been ill-treated in any way. ·Bitateral Kurssions

negotiations are continuing with the Vietnamese Government on the Nacticalities noun- whatnag

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33. The Steering Committee of the International Conference on

Indo-Chinese Refugees, which reconvened in Geneva in mid-January,

narrowly failed to reach agreement on how to deal with those determined not to be refugees following screening. Almost all the

participants were prepared to accept that mandatory repatriation

could begin from 1 July 1990. In the end consensus was blocked by

the United States, which insisted that no one should be returned

involuntary before 1 January 1991 and by the Vietnamese who held out

for 1 October 1990. The Government have made clear to the United

CATAAU (14)

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