ENG-1993 — Page 479

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

The department provides training for both new and serving officers. Recruits undergo a 12-week induction course which covers law, immigration policies and procedures, foot-drill, physical training, swimming, first-aid and practical attachments. As part of the career development programme, in-service and specialised training are also provided within the department and in outside organisations.

During the year, 168 recruits completed their induction training. A further 3 273 serving officers received various types of job-related, management, development and other con- tinuation training. Of these, 12 officers were selected for overseas attachment and training.

Vietnamese Migrants

The Vietnamese migrant population in Hong Kong camps continued to decline. In 1993, only 101 Vietnamese migrants arrived in Hong Kong, while over 15 322 were either settled overseas or repatriated to Vietnam. The corresponding figures for 1992 were 12 and 16 051, respectively.

The government's policy towards Vietnamese migrants is based on the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA), which was endorsed by the international community in Geneva in June 1989. The CPA provides that while those Vietnamese migrants who are classified as refugees under the terms of the 1951 United Nations Convention and 1967 Protocol are eligible for resettlement, those who are found not to be refugees should return to Vietnam. In October 1991, agreement was reached with the Vietnamese Government on the orderly repatriation of all Vietnamese migrants found to be non-refugees. A total of 817 persons have since been returned to Vietnam under this programme. The momentum of the voluntary repatriation programme organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was also maintained during 1993. Over 12 301 persons returned to Vietnam voluntarily - an average of 1 025 per month.

It is important that migrants returning to Vietnam should be assured that they may do so safely and without fear of persecution. The Hong Kong Government will not send back to Vietnam anyone whom they, or the UNHCR, believe is a genuine refugee. The Vietnamese Government has given firm guarantees that no returnees will be persecuted. All returnees are closely monitored on their return by the UNHCR to ensure that the guarantees are fully respected. Since March 1989, over 38 613 Vietnamese migrants have returned to Vietnam from Hong Kong and there has not been a single substantiated case of persecution to date.

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At the same time, the Hong Kong Government and the international community recognise that while the economy in Vietnam has been improving gradually, returnees may have difficulties in re-establishing themselves on their return. The UNHCR therefore provides financial assistance to returnees to help them to resume their normal lives in Vietnam. The reintegration assistance programme run by the European Community in Vietnam offers returnees job-creation schemes, training courses and start-up loans for businesses. It also helps finance local infrastructure and health projects. To complement these international efforts, the Hong Kong Government contributed a further $15 million in May 1993 to finance small-scale infrastructure projects in the poorer migrant-producing areas in Vietnam, to raise living standards and increase employment opportunities for

returnees.

At the end of 1993, there were 29 251 Vietnamese migrants and 1 846 refugees in Hong Kong. Of the Vietnamese migrants, over 27 564 had been screened out and 1 687 were

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