TNAG-2401-FCO40-3488-Vietnamese-migrants-Orderly-Repatriation-Programme-(ORP)-1992 — Page 192

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FM HONG KONG

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HKA 020/14

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053364 MDLIAN 1018

INFO PRIORITY UKMIS GENEVA, HANOI, WASHINGTON, UKREP BRUSSELS INFO PRIORITY CANBERRA, OTTAWA, TOKYO, PEKING

VIETNAMESE MIGRANTS: REVIEW OF PROGRESS ON ORDERLY RETURN.

SUMMARY

1.

SINCE AGREEMENT WITH THE VIETNAMESE IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR AND THE START OF A SUCCESSFUL ORDERLY RETURN PROGRAMME, NUMBERS ARRIVING FROM VIETNAM HAVE BEEN NEGLIGIBLE AND NUMBERS VOLUNTEERING TO RETURN HAVE MAINTAINED A HIGH LEVEL. THE LESSON IS CLEAR. SUCCESSFUL REPATRIATION GETS THE MESSAGE ACROSS BOTH IN VIETNAM AND IN THE CAMPS. THIS UNDERLINES THE NEED TO GET AGREEMENT ON A FULL PROGRAMME FOR ORDERLY RETURN.

2. THREE MONTHS AFTER OUR AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM ON ORDERLY RETURN WE HAVE TAKEN STOCK OF PROGRESS THUS FAR.

3. SINCE THE AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM IN LATE OCTOBER LAST YEAR, NUMBERS ARRIVING IN HONG KONG HAVE BEEN NEGLIGIBLE. ONLY 62 VIETNAMESE HAVE ARRIVED SINCE THEN. THIS COMPARES WITH OVER 1,300 IN THE SAME PERIOD THE YEAR BEFORE. THE DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE IS CLEARLY DUE TO THE OCTOBER AGREEMENT AND THE VERY CLEAR MESSAGE FROM TWO SUCCESSFUL FLIGHTS TO RETURN NON-REFUGEES DESPITE THEIR FAILURE TO VOLUNTEER.

4.

AT THE SAME TIME VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION HAS GAINED MOMENTUM. OVER 4,100 VIETNAMESE HAVE RETURNED HOME UNDER THE UNHCR VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME SINCE THE OCTOBER AGREEMENT LAST YEAR. THIS IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THE FIGURE FOR THE SAME PERIOD THE YEAR BEFORE. SIGNIFICANTLY, THE NUMBER APPLYING TO GO BACK HAS INCREASED MARKEDLY SINCE LAST AUTUMN. WE ARE NOW CONSISTENTLY RETURNING OVER 1,000 PEOPLE PER MONTH. AT THE SAME TIME THE NUMBER OF THOSE WAITING IN THE QUEUE TO RETURN HAS REMAINED CONSISTENTLY AT THE LEVEL OF ABOUT 3000.

5. IT SEEMS QUITE CLEAR THAT THE DRAMATIC DROP IN ARRIVALS, AND THE SUSTAINED INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF THOSE VOLUNTEERING TO GO

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