TNAG-2625-FCO40-3816-Visit-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Co-1992 — Page 68

7. VIETNAMESE MIGRANTS

IS ORDERLY REPATRIATION PROGRAMME (ORP) IN LINE WITH UK'S WIDER INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS?

- ORP is in accordance with Comprehensive Plan of Action approved in 1989 by Second International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees.

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Vietnamese assurance that no returnees will face persecution.

Monitoring in Vietnam by UNHCR, British Embassy and NGOs. No evidence whatever of ill-treatment by authorities in more than 20,000 cases, including returns from the first asylum countries in the region.

Not humane to keep migrants in camps indefinitely.

Illegal immigrants (ie those found not to be refugees) have no access to resettlement.

- To ensure that genuine refugees are protected and

resettled, economic migrants must return to their country of origin, in accordance with international practice.

Hope to see seen a humane end to this long-standing problem. The flow of migrants arriving in Hong Kong has almost ceased, while the number returning voluntarily continues to rise.

RESETTLEMENT IN THE UK

Britain is currently finalising arrangements to accept the remaining cases in order to fulfil its quota of 2000 places.

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