MINUTES OF THE MEETING, PART II
United Nations Press Release REF/811, 20 July 1979
Meeting on Refugees and Displaced Persons in South-East Asia Hears More Statements (Received from the United Nations Information Service, Geneva)
The Meeting on refugees and displaced persons in South-East Asia convened by Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim to devise concrete ways of helping solve what he termed “the agonising problem” of these refugees, continued this afternoon in Geneva, with statements by the Federal Republic of Germany, Indonesia, Canada , Thailand, Denmark, China, Israel, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Nigeria, Switzerland, Spain, Brazil and Costa Rica.
Two more meetings are scheduled to take place tomorrow, 21 July, with the following delegations listed to speak at the morning session: Australia, United States, New Zealand, Finland, Soviet Union, Luxembourg, Holy See, Argentina, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Greece, Tunisia, Yugoslavia, Chile and Mexico.
Statements Made
GUNTHER VAN WELL, Secretary of State of the Federal Republic of Germany: The heads of the Lander governments of the Federal Republic of Germany agreed, at a Meeting with the Federal Chancellor on 6 July, that the Federal Republic of Germany should increase its number of places for refugees to a total of 10,000 inclusive of those already made available. This decision was taken despite the burden of having already taken in a large number of Germans from Eastern Europe — approximately 58,000 in 1973 — and an increasing number of people seeking asylum, approximately 33,000 in 1978.
Since 1975 the Federal Republic of Germany has made available a total of approximately 22 million DM for assistance to Indochinese refugees in South-East Asia. The Federal Republic of Germany is now making available another 7 million DM. In addition, it will provide within the next few months — pending parliamentary approval — another 20 million DM. It will then have provided for these hard-hit people a total of approximately 50 million DM, including 32 million DM in 1979 alone. Assistance rendered by private organizations in the Federal Republic of Germany amounted to 12.5 million DM. The Federal Republic of Germany will strongly advocate increasing the assistance provided by the European Community. The Federal Republic of Germany is willing to provide, in 1980 as well, increased development assistance, both bilaterally and through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for concrete projects promoting the integration of refugees from Indo-China into the developing countries. The Federal Republic of Germany hopes that those measures will contribute to a longer-term solution of the problem of integrating refugees into third countries.
MOCHTAR KUSUMAATIIADJA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia: In regard to first asylum States, “when the burden of refugees becomes unbearable because of its effect on the security, the political and economic stability of these countries, one cannot reasonably expect those countries to continue taking in even more refugees unless firm commitments are made to ensure a greater number of resettlement places”.
The problems should not only be tackled in the camps “where these refugees live in misery, but also tackled at the source”. The agreement between Viet Nam and the UNHCR for orderly departures should be enlarged to include all those people “who for whatever reason wish to leave Viet Nam”.
International aid to first asylum countries “is grossly inadequate” when compared to the needs of the refugees in South-East Asia. It is hoped that the UNHCR processing centre at Galang Island will be operational soon as the feasibility study has been completed.
But, it is resettlement that can bring the Meeting nearer to a solution and developed countries must increase their offers and speed up the resettlement process. They might even serve as first asylum countries themselves to take the pressure off the Association of South-East Asian nations (ASEAN).
The preceding remarks concerned boat people. As for the “land people” problem in Thailand, it can “only be eliminated when the Kampuchean conflict is solved”.
FLORA McDONALD, Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada:
Canada has decided to accept up to 50,000 IndoChinese from this year to the end of 1980. “This means that the countries of first asylum can count on Canada to accept up to 3,000 refugees a month. Other countries are challenged to follow this lead.”
Canada is “in partnership” with private citizens and organizations under which the Government will sponsor one refugee for each refugee privately sponsored. Canada’s provincial Governments have been consulted and support the plan.
On the financial level, Canada announces a further $500,000 contribution to the UNHCR programme for Indo-China.
“To lower the fever is not to eradicate the infection.” One cannot arbitrarily separate the various aspects of the problem such as first asylum or resettlement and term them humanitarian, and then dismiss the causes of the exodus as political.
“Countries of exodus should abandon the policies causing the outflow and the practices that abet it. It is no less humanitarian to demand that they deal with their citizens without discrimination and in a humane manner. It is our humanity that cries out for an end to this flagrant, continuing and outrageous violation of human rights.”
No plan can work if the countries of exodus — Viet Nam, Kampuchea and Laos — do not accept their responsibilities. “Those Governments have paramount responsibility to ensure that departures of their citizens take place in a safe and orderly manner without threat or penalty of any kind.”
SIDDHI SAVETSILA, Minister attached to the Office of the Prime Minister of Thailand: Warned against failure at the meeting.
Thailand’s pre-occupation is with “land people” which has not gained adequate attention from the international community. “More than half of the displaced persons in camps in South-East Asia — 170,000 illegal immigrants — are ‘land cases’ in Thailand.” “And since December the number of ‘land cases’ has grown by more than 40,000, not including 40,000 illegal immigrants coming from Kampuchea.”
But resettlement offers for “land cases” are not in proportion to their numbers; only about 35 per cent of resettlement offers have been received from third countries.
ASEAN countries have repeatedly called on Viet Ham to constructively solve the problem — “all this to no avail”. “Once it became apparent that the exodus was systematically encouraged, the ASEAN countries individually decided to take firm and effective measures to prevent further inflow of illegal immigrants from Indo-China.”
Reaffirming his Government’s intention to contribute its fair share, he said it would welcome international assistance “provided that such assistance is rendered through the Thai authorities and the Thai Red Cross”.
Mr. Savetsila proposed three areas of immediate action: dealing with the problem at the source through an end to “the massive expulsion of population”, a significant increase in resettlement offers, particularly for overland people, and the establishment of “holding centres” for prospective departees within the countries of origin and under international supervision.
LISE OSTERGAARD, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Denmark: Denmark will increase by 100 per cent, that is to 1,000, the number of refugees it will take, making a grand total of 1,200 by the end of 1979.
But Denmark will also grant permanent asylum to all refugees rescued at sea by ships flying the Danish flag should they not be accepted for resettlement in their first priority countries of asylum.
Denmark is also raising its contribution to the UNHCR’s South-East Asia programme by 10 million kroner, bringing its total contributions to 40 million kroner for the year.
There is also a need to expand the High Commissioner’s possibilities to resolve refugee problems in general through allowing him to offer financial assistance to developing countries willing to resettle refugees. To such an end Denmark is ready to contribute up to 25 million kroner for the first year.
This Meeting was not the place for political discussion. The presence of Viet Nam at the Meeting is “a sign that there is a basis for and a willingness to further proceed along the road on which the understanding” for orderly departures could be considered just as a first step.
ZHANG WENJIN, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China: “The creation of such a human tragedy cannot be tolerated by civilized humanity.” His country “cannot but express our deep regret and solemnly condemn the country which is the arch culprit responsible for such atrocities”.
Mr. Zhang praised the ASEAN countries of first asylum and the UNHCR for their efforts to date. But it is “unfair” that Kampuchea, a United Nations Member, has not been invited to the Meeting.
Up to the end of February this year, 202,000 refugees “had been driven into China, including Vietnamese citizens of Chinese descent“. Since then the monthly average has exceeded 10,000. So far 200,000 have been resettled but “in some Vietnamese countries and districts bordering on China, a policy for setting up so-called cordon sanitaire is being pursued to continue to drive Vietnamese nationals into China“.
To help these refugees already in China, the equivalent of $450,000,000 has been spent and the pace of arrivals is not slackening. However, China is ready to contribute nearly $1,000,000 to the UNHCR Indo-Chinese programme.
Turning to the causes of the situation, the Chinese delegate said that Viet Nam “in recent years has indulged in militarism and been bent on aggression and expansion. At home the Vietnamese authorities are enforcing a military dictatorship and practising genocide, thus leading to the exodus of refugees”.
This means that Vietnam is shifting its “grave economic difficulties onto neighbouring countries”.
“One Super-Power” by supporting Viet Nam “shows up the designs of this Super-Power which attempts to fish in troubled waters and meddle in the affairs of South-East Asia”.
“The more you resettle, the more they will expel, and the situation will go on deteriorating” unless you get to the root causes. If these causes are not faced, “we can hardly claim to have fulfilled humanitarian and moral responsibilities incumbent on us all”.
Mr. Zhang put forward five proposals:
— Greater offers for resettlement and processing countries plus the financial aid to countries of first asylum;
— Vietnamese acceptance of those refugees who choose to return with guarantees of safety for their persons and property and proper resettlement and orderly departure for those wishing to leave;
— The obligation of all ships to rescue “boat people”.
— All countries should provide funds for refugee relief and suspend their economic aid to Vietnam and reallocate those funds for refugee relief until Viet Nam changes its policy which leads to the exodus; and
— Viet Nam should be urged to change its policy of “creating and exporting” refugees and end its “discrimination against and persecution of national minorities and Chinese nationals in Viet Nam”.
DAVID LEVI, Minister of Construction, Housing and Immigrant Absorption of Israel: The nations of the world are witnessing a spectacle of boats full of refugees in distress and adrift on the open seas. A few have reacted to this spectacle with “sincere emotion”. Others have remained unmoved. For Israel this human drama has awakened memories of “very personal experiences” which will be endured forever.
Only one generation ago, boats laden with Jewish refugees ploughed the seas and oceans, fleeing from the terror of the Nazi regime and from extermination. All the nations of the world, without distinction, refused to accept them. Six million Jews, including one and a half million infants, perished “in the most terrible holocaust known to man. The exodus of uprooted Jews looking for homes continued after the defeat of Hitler. Thousands reached the coast of Israel in frail boats, and sometimes had to swim ashore. In this way they joined a people which earned their liberty in 1948 at the cost of a heroic and murderous battle”. The State of Israel constituted a guarantee that there will never again be a repetition of such horrible scenes. Thus, he speaks as the representative of a people which has known suffering and persecution, and his Prime Minister was the first to launch an appeal to all nations to help in finding a solution to the Vietnamese refugees problem.
He, as Minister in charge of immigrant absorption, assumes responsibility for the transfer and reception of the Vietnamese refugees in Israel. Israel offered asylum to the first group of Vietnamese refugees as early as June 1977. What is required is “firm action” and “not just words”. Therefore Israel has decided to accept another 200. It is Israel’s hope that the new refugees will establish and integrate as successfully as the first two groups to which it had offered asylum. Israel stood ready to share with interested Governments and institutions its experience in the field of immigrant absorption.
C.A. VAN DER KLAAUW, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands: The conference is confronted with the tragic fate of countless numbers of refugees in South-East Asia, a situation which large-scale humanitarian efforts have not stopped from further deterioration. Governments participating in the Conference have an obligation to use these two days to reach “concrete and permanent solutions”.
The Netherlands recognizes that the South-East Asian situation is part of a world-wide refugee problem. Other regions too deserve the conference’s attention. He has a “profound respect” for many countries which have accepted their responsibility and for their “valuable efforts”. The recent Pan African conference on refugees, held in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, is a “good example” of this attitude.
The Netherlands fully supports the principles accepted by the European Community as a basis for the orderly conduct of relations between States, including the principles of asylum and non-refoulement as accepted humanitarian standards. It also supports the obligations of shipowners and captains to rescue refugees on the high seas.
The situation in South-East Asia cannot be solved by the countries of the region alone. The search for a durable solution is the responsibility of the international community as a whole. Much has been done, but more is needed in terms of more financial contributions and increased resettlement offers. A co-ordinated effort must also take into account the fact that some groups are more deprived than others.
He strongly endorses the proposals of the High Commissioner. There is no need for new machinery. The interest of the refugees can best be served by strengthening the relationship between the High Commissioner and the countries of origin of the refugees, by strengthening his role as co-ordinator of bilateral and multilateral assistance, and by channelling through his Office the additional funds made available.
HANS BLIX, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden: He described the problem as consisting of three huge groups of people — the 200,000 boat people, those from Kampuchea either in Thailand or pushed back into their country, and the Laotians who have entered Thailand.
Voluntary repatriation “is a distinct possibility” which should be looked into, as once peace returns to Kampuchea many refugees in Thailand may wish to return.
The last six months of war in Kampuchea have seriously disrupted agriculture. “The international community must help reduce the imminent risk of starvation.”
For the Vietnamese “boat people”, “the solution sought must respect the principle that people have the right to leave their own country” and the age-old rule that people in danger at sea must be rescued.
On resettlement, Sweden is increasing its current offer of 1,500 places by 750. But the burden on first asylum countries must he lifted at least financially by generous outside donations for transit camps.
The third line of action Sweden foresees is through agreement between Vietnam and the High Commissioner for the orderly departure of people wishing to leave. Mr. Blix urged Viet Nam to pursue this line of action while also creating “such social and economic conditions that no group of its people, and in particular no ethnic group, feels that their only choice is to leave Viet Nam in the manner which has shocked the world.”
WILLIBALD PAHR, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria: He proposed a broad, international consultation within the framework of the United Nations — perhaps even in the form of a conference — aimed at giving the High Commissioner new and greater facilities.
He questioned why the Indo Chinese exodus was taking place and he found it “rather a shameful sign of our times that we have to meet here in order to try and master a situation to which we can no longer remain indifferent”.
The people who have been forced to seek asylum “are victims of violations of human rights” whether the reasons are political, religious or racial. This also holds good for those forced to leave because of hunger and distress.
Austria has always been a country of first asylum and only international help made it possible to overcome the moments of crisis. Despite a continuing refugee influx, Austria is raising its Indochinese quota to 500 and plans to contribute food to ease the burden and to give greater financial aid to the High Commissioner.
The exodus in Indo-China will only end “when everyone in Viet Nam and Cambodia has the chance to live in freedom and dignity proper to human beings”.
KNUT FRYDENLUND, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway: The Meeting should concentrate on the humanitarian aspects of the tragedy. “For the sake of the thousands who every day are risking their lives, let us today concentrate on the necessary emergency measures to save lives. This does not mean, however, that we should not seek solutions by political means, if need be.”
Resettlement is the key problem. Norway, therefore, is increasing the numbers of Indochinese it will take from 900 up to 3,000. The pressure on countries of first asylum must be alleviated by other countries through financial assistance. Norway is further adding $2 million to the $15 million it has given to help South-East Asian refugees over the years.
Mr. Frydenlund strongly appealed to the Vietnamese Government to see that its people who want to leave can do so in an orderly manner. And, as a leading maritime State, Norway reaffirmed the obligation of “flag States in respect of the duty of ship masters to give assistance to those in distress at sea”. He called for universal observance of the principle that States at which a vessel makes its first scheduled call after a rescue “should permit refugees to disembark and give them temporary asylum”. In this context the Minister announced a Norwegian fund of $750,000 for a voluntary relief project known as “A boat for Viet Nam”, about to go into action.
KOLUYEMI ADENJI Nigeria: The problem of refugees in South-East Asia is “not so much from the actual numbers, but rather from the historical and political complexity of the problem and the uncertainty as to the future”.
The Meeting should leave aside those complexities and focus on the uncertainties. The tragedy will be mitigated if the principle of non-refoulement is observed. Another obligation to be observed is that of captains at sea to rescue victims.
“Mass and unregulated departure of these refugees, straining facilities as well as creating security problems in neighbouring countries, was at the heart of the matter.” He supported the orderly departure scheme.
Mr. Adeniji expressed hope that the “boat people” situation and the humanitarian concern it has engendered “will outlast this immediate crisis and mark the beginning of truly concerted international efforts to tackle the usually tragic plight of refugees”.
In Africa too there are refugee problems, particularly in southern Africa, where the refugees are victims of apartheid. There are 4 million refugees in Africa and they represent 50 per cent of the world refugees.
For its part, Nigeria has decided to double its contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the equivalent of 120,000 Swiss francs.
KURT FURGLER, Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, Switzerland: The root causes of the Vietnamese refugee problem are well known. These include war and its aftermath of misery, hunger and the systematic denial of human rights. These problems should be analysed and overcome, since the ultimate objective of international action should be to tackle the disease at its source.
Switzerland is ready to make a substantial contribution towards this task. The offer of asylum to people in distress is one of its traditions. At the moment, some 35,000 refugees have been resettled on its territory. With regard to the Vietnamese refugees, the Government has decided to receive 3,000 by the end of 1980. However, as a special contribution towards the most expeditious transfer of refugees already in transit camps, it has decided to accelerate its intake of refugees in order to achieve the 3,000 target by the end of 1979, one year earlier than originally planned.
Switzerland has already offered asylum to 1,650 Indochinese refugees. It is ready to make even greater contributions, and the target of 3,000 is not the maximum of the assistance it intends to provide.
CARLOS ROBLES PIQUER, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Spain: All Governments have a “moral obligation” to help in finding a solution to the “painful consequences” of the most terrible tragedy experienced by the world community in recent history. The problem has two dimensions: one political, the other economic. The political significance is implicit in the difficulties encountered in the efforts to find a durable solution for the problem. It has been suggested that the ideal solution would be voluntary repatriation, but this does not always prove viable.
The only alternative is resettlement in a country of asylum. The situation calls for the granting of durable asylum in countries nearest to the refugees’ country of origin. It will thus be possible to resettle them at low cost, and the social pressures of change will be minimized.
International action should aim at achieving four main objectives. First, the understanding already reached with the country of origin should broadened to provide for the establishment of departure centres within Viet Nam. Second, transit centres should be established as near as possible to the Vietnamese peninsula. Third, conditions should be created to permit the adaptation of refugees to local conditions. Fourth, an international volunteer corps should be set up to assist with the refugee problem.
SERGIO CORREA DA COSTA (Brazil): Delegates, while trying to cope with the humanitarian problem of South-East Asian refugees, “must not forget the political realities behind it”.
Any durable solution will have to take into account “not only its regional basis but also call upon the efforts of countries which, in the past, had colonial responsibilities in the Indochinese area” as well as those which were involved in the conflicts “which ravaged the region for more than 30 years”.
Brazil’s immigration policy is guided by the country’s development needs. Not the least of its problems are those resulting from internal migrations involving tens of millions of individuals. Thus Brazil has only a small margin for absorbing new groups of people.
Nevertheless, Brazil is offering a “special financial contribution” to the High Commissioner aimed at supporting processing centres in South-East Asia.
MANUEL FERER-JIMENEZ (Costa Rica): What is urgently needed is action to improve the international institutions of human rights and international law. A new machinery is also needed in regard to the duties and rights of States concerning the principle of asylum. The purpose is to make the conditions for respecting this principle more flexible.
The refugee problem should not become the burden of any one State, it is the responsibility of the entire world community. Countries whose economic and social situation is threatened by the refugee problem have a right to assistance, provided under a long-term multilaterally co-ordinated programme. The assistance provided by non-governmental organizations, especially those of a religious character, should not be overlooked.
Costa Rica has decided to withdraw its offer to receive and resettle 100 Vietnamese refugees. The country’s capacity for refugee assistance has been overstretched as a result of the influx of refugees from neighbouring Nicaragua. The total number of refugees from that country receiving assistance from Costa Rica amounted to two and a half per cent of Costa Rica’s total population. When the situation returns to normal and the refugees return home, Costa Rica may resume its co-operation with the UNHCR in assisting the Vietnamese refugees.
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S-0901-0007-02-00001 Indo-China peninsula – Country files – Kampuchea – meeting on refugees and displaced persons in Southeast Asia, 18/06/1979–06/08/1979