TNAG-2168-FCO40-3105-House-of-Commons-Foreign-Affairs-Committee-inquiry-into-Hong-1990 — Page 284

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE

Current Position

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17. There are over 55,000 Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong, of

whom 11,700 are refugees. The remainder are subject to the

e

so far

screening process: some 6200 have been determined not to be refugees

BUL

and await return to Vietnam. (Only 100 of these have volunteered to

#negy 1200 So far people have returned to Vietnam voluntarily, and

E

return.

NP

51 non-volunteers were returned on 12 December 1989. Lord Ennals

and Mr Timothy Raison MP visited Vietnam in January to report on the

return of treatment of the non-volunteers, and established that they were not

being subjected to any ill-treatment. The British Government would

prefer, however, that UNIIER extend their monitoring activities to

cover all who return to Vietnam The Geneva International

what shoul Conference Steering Committee has so far failed to agree on how to

be done with repatriate those who are not refugees but who do not volunteer to

mandator return. A consensus that other than voluntary repatriation could

a fur begin en 1 July 1990 was blocked by the United States, whe insisted

on 1 January 1991, and Vietnam which proposed 1 October 1990. The

we ar British Covernment is concerned that any moratorium will simply

encourage a further unmanageable outflow from Vietnam during 1990,

rather than act as a deterrent.

number of

which

18. Mr Francis Maude, Minister of State, visited Hanoi from 18-21

February for bilateral discussions with the Vietnamese. Agreement

retuned to Vietnam way was reached that the fate of acceptance of volunteers would rise to

around 1,000 a month by 1 May 1990.

non- voumniary Negotiations en acceptance of

that

non volunteers would continue, with a view to agreement by the end

of February.

British Approach

19. In the continuing absence of a full Steering Committee

consensus, we are examining the possibility of implementing the Geneva consensus on a regional basis, though agreement between

places of first asylum and Vietnam. The cooperation of the UNHCR

will would be crucial. If the United States continues to block the

consensus, UNHCR may find it difficult to undertake a role which

CP2AIU

SEAD

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