MINUTES OF THE MEETING, PART I
United Nations Press Release, 20 July 1979
Secretary-General Opens Meeting on Refugees and Displaced Persons in South-East Asia (Received from the United Nations Information Service, Geneva)
Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim opened in Geneva this morning, 20 July, the Meeting he convened three weeks ago to examine the question of refugees and displaced persons in South-East Asia.
The Meeting, which is scheduled to last for two days, is to seek concrete ways of helping thousands of refugees and displaced persons. An appeal has been made by the Secretary-General to Governments willing to participate in aid programmes, to make financial contributions and to find places of resettlement. Solutions are also to be found for establishing more processing centres including in the countries of origin of the refugees, and for ensuring the transport of refugees and displaced persons to their places of destination.
In response to the Secretary-General’s initiative 68 states are participating in the Meeting.
After the opening speech of the Secretary-General and a statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Poul Hartling, the representatives of the following States spoke this morning: Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Philippines, Italy, Singapore and Belgium.
The next meeting of the Conference is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.
Statements Made
Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim this morning in Geneva opened the Meeting on Refugees and Displaced Persons “for the text of the Secretary-General’s statement, see Press Release SG/SM/2757-REF/808 issues today). An opening statement was also made by the United Nations High Commissioner Poul Hartling (Press Release REF/809).
The next speaker was SUNAO SONODA, Foreign Minister of Japan: The problem of Indochinese refugees has now become a challenge to the international community as a whole. It was an issue of grave concern for the participants of the recent Tokyo Summit, held on 28 and 29 June, and for the participants of other recent regional gatherings, at which an agreement was reached that effective measures should be taken to resolve the problem as promptly as possible.
This problem is no longer a matter of simple humanitarian concern but has become a serious political problem affecting the peace and stability of the region.
The first important point for achieving concrete and constructive results at this conference is to restrain the disorderly outflow of refugees. Sufficient facilities must also be provided in the countries of first asylum, resettlement must be facilitated and financial co-operation must be expanded.
As a result of the ravages of war and famine in Kampuchea , there is a continuing outflow of refugees from that country to Thailand. A lasting solution to this problem essentially requires the restoration of peace and emergency measures in such fields as food and medicine. We should start promoting vigorously the international efforts aiming at achieving a political solution to the conflict in Kampuchea and furthermore to the whole problem of Indo-China.
As to the relief measures, the Government of Japan has recently decided to raise this year its share of contribution to the UNHCR assistance programme for Indochinese refugees from its previous level of “approximately 25 per cent to 50 per cent at a stroke”. At the same time, all the countries concerned should make their utmost efforts to see to it that the number of refugees in the countries of first asylum shall in no circumstances increase in future.
Japan also supports the idea of establishing refugee processing centres.
Despite serious domestic difficulties and constraints, Japan is also taking part in the international efforts to promote the resettlement of refugees and intends to raise its target figure.
As to the problems of recue at sea, the temporary landings should be permitted on humanitarian grounds. Conditions should be created whereby countries would feel no apprehension when granting temporary asylum. Japan intends to study the possibility of extending to the major first asylum countries bilateral assistance.
TAN SRI GHAZALI SHAFIE, Minister of Home Affairs, Malaysia: Well before the advent of the Vietnamese boat people, Malaysia had accepted nearly 90,000 refugees from neighbouring countries. In addition, Malaysia accepted for permanent settlement over 2,300 Indochinese refugees who fled to Malaysia in the immediate aftermath of the Indochinese war. It is not possible, however, for Malaysia to accept any more refugees for permanent settlement. We made known our inability to absorb for permanent settlement the boat people from Vietnam. Yet we have given temporary shelter to the boat people who have come to Malaysia. Since 1975 until 15 July 1979, there had been 120,000 arrivals on Malaysia’s shores to whom Malaysia gave temporary shelter. By May this year, the total residue in Malaysia’s camps had gone up to 75,000, an increase of 25,000 from the figure at the end of 1978. The popular mood of Malaysia changed from one of compassion to anxiety.
Malaysia’s proposals are set out in a paper entitled “The Vietnamese ‘boat people” — an outline of Malaysia’s proposals to resolve the problem. The paper together with the Prime Minister’s message to the United Nations Secretary-General of 18 June 1979 should be recognized as a conference paper. Malaysia proposes that United Nations Processing Centres for Vietnamese refugees, funded and administered by the UNHCR, be established in several countries. The Vietnamese boat people now in camps of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and Hong Kong should be transferred there for processing to resettlement countries. Transit countries would then serve as no more than staging posts from which the refugees would be moved to the proposed United Nations centres. The UNHCR should be provided with a mandate to establish similar processing centres in Vietnam, with the agreement of the Vietnamese Government, for people prepared to be classified as refugees and processed for resettlement in other countries. Urgent action must be taken to resettle these thousands of boat people who are already located in camps throughout South-East Asia. This will bring immediate relief not only to the refugees but to the countries of first transit.
With these centres established, Malaysia would be prepared to lift the present cordon and serve as staging post for new arrivals from Vietnam to be sent to these processing centres. Should the UNHCR and the international community fail to accept the Malaysian proposals and, at the same time, fail to give the pledge to Malaysia and to agree on concrete measures to take away
all illegal immigrants now in Malaysian processing centres so that Malaysia will not be saddled with the residual problem, then Malaysia reserves the right to continue preventing the arrival of these people on Malaysia’s shores by every means at its disposal.
PHAN HIEN (Vietnam): The presence of Vietnam at this Conference proves the goodwill of the Government of Vietnam to take concrete and realistic measures for solving the refugee problem.
The Vietnamese Government and the High Commissioner held many negotiations and agreed on a seven-point memorandum. The orderly exit of persons authorized to leave Vietnam — such as family reunions or other humanitarian reasons — will be ensured to the maximum extent possible. The numbers of authorizations will depend on the volume of applications for leaving Vietnam and on the ability of host countries to grant entrance visas. The choice of persons who will be authorized to leave Vietnam will be made on the basis of lists prepared by the Government of Vietnam and by the host countries. Persons whose names are included in both lists are qualified for exit. Discussions between the UNHCR, the Government of Vietnam and the Governments of host countries will be held on persons whose names appear on our list only.
The UNHCR will make every effort to win the support of host countries for this programme. The Government of Vietnam and the UNHCR will appoint staff to implement the programme. Those persons are authorized to work in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City and, if necessary, other places to promote the exit operations. The departures will take place at regular intervals and with appropriate means of transport. Within the framework of relevant Vietnamese laws, the Government of Vietnam will provide the UNHCR and the host countries with all necessary facilities to implement the programme.
The Government of Vietnam is willing to hold concrete discussions with the UNHCR on the establishment of a processing centre in Vietnam to help refugees leave legally and in an orderly fashion. Vietnam supports the proposal to set up new processing centres, for example by the United States in Guam, by Japan in Okinawa, by China on the island of Hainan, etc. Vietnam also supports the UNHCR proposal to ensure the financial means for the establishment of more processing centres on a number of islands belonging to countries in South-East Asia. Vietnam appeals to developed countries to grant more financial and food aid and to accept a greater number of refugees. Vietnam also proposes to establish air-lifts and to set ships in motion in order to move the refugees swiftly to their destinations. Vietnam also appeals to all other countries and the international organizations to make a positive contribution to the solution of the refugee problem. Vietnam welcomes the sustained efforts of the UNHCR for solving the refugee problem.
MICHAEL O’KENNEDY, Foreign Minister of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the Council of the European Economic Community: The problem of refugees in South-East Asia is of formidable dimensions and calls for a special effort by the international community to relieve the material and moral distress involved.
The Nine feel that the suggested plan of action as prepared by the High Commissioner for this Meeting should be particularly held in mind in the Meeting’s deliberations. Each of the countries represented here, including in particular, the countries which the refugees are leaving, should face their own particular responsibilities. Measures should be agreed upon to ensure that those who do freely wish to leave their countries of origin and can be accepted for settlement elsewhere, may do so — and do so in conditions which will be consonant with human dignity.
All countries of the European Community have admitted, or agreed to accept, refugees for resettlement and all have contributed to the funds of the UNHCR. In addition, the Community as such has made a large amount of special aid available to relieve the refugees. We hope that countries which had not previously responded will now find it possible to do so.
All of this will not be enough, however, unless all of us play our part and, in particular, unless the countries from which the exodus of refugees is taking place meet their particular responsibilities.
As to the actions of Ireland, “we very recently announced the doubling of the number of refugees we had originally envisaged taking. All necessary arrangements are well under way to make the reception and resettlement of the first group of refugees as smooth and painless as it can possibly be in the circumstances. In addition, the Government of Ireland has decided to make $500,000 available for relief programmes for the refugees. Furthermore, Irish health experts will work in the field in the proposed joint UNHCR/Irish project.”
LORD CARRINGTON, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, United Kingdom: Our aims at this Conference must be to find ways to alleviate human suffering, firstly by getting the Government of Vietnam to exercise a humane policy in respect of its own people and secondly by finding ways of sharing throughout the international community the unfair burden which is now being borne by the ASEAN countries.
I am bound to wonder what lies behind the exodus and why tens of thousands of men, women and children have died in the South China Sea because they could not or would not, continue living in their own country. One can only conclude that they have left because the policies of the Vietnamese Government made it impossible for them to remain. Their fate is now the international concern of us all.
The Government of Vietnam is now proposing that its extremely limited seven-point Understanding with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should be expanded to provide for orderly departure of all those who wish to leave Vietnam. The international community will need to study this suggestion with great attention.
Right now, we need to ensure that existing pressures are eased, and for this it is necessary to obtain commitments from countries outside the area to receive refugees for final settlement and to contribute generously to the ever-escalating costs. Secondly, we need to look at proposals to bring order into the flow of refugees from Vietnam. Thirdly, we need to reassert the principles of first asylum and the safety of life at sea.
International supervision of the resettlement arrangements could best be exercised by a commission drawn from a small number of neutral and non-aligned countries. This commission would work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Government of Vietnam to set up and manage acceptable arrangements for handling people who wish to leave Vietnam, as well as those who wish to leave Laos and Cambodia.
The United Kingdom has a particular responsibility for Hong Kong, which has taken all the refugees who have reached its shores, and intends to accept its share of refugees for final settlement. Britain will take, over the coming months, a further 10,000 refugees. Subject to the approval of the United Kingdom Parliament, we shall also make available a further £5 million over the next 12 months for dealing with the refugee problem. And Britain will allocate all our pleas to Hong Kong, which now has nearly one third of all boat refugees in camps in South East Asia.
We should work out effective programmes for the resettlement of refugees in developing as well as in developed countries. We must uphold and reassert the accepted international principles of temporary asylum, though they were not designed to cope with a man-made disaster of the size we are now witnessing.
JEAN FRANCOIS-PONCET, Foreign Minister of France: It shall be the honour of the Meeting to work out a set of rules accepted by all and which make it possible to regulate and humanize the migration process. The aim is to save human lives.
As to what could be the action of the international community, at the departure stage it’s necessary to reach an agreement acknowledging the right to emigrate and the necessity of an orderly emigration. The seven-point agreement between Vietnam and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees opens up a path which should be explored, but this agreement does not seem commensurate with the problem.
He took note of the commitment of Vietnam to establish and implement a six months’ moratorium during which departures would be adjourned, while the living conditions of the applicants should be improved.
At the processing and first-asylum stage, the priority objective must be to rapidly decongest the existing centres by making use of the moratorium period established in the departure countries. The centres should be located both in departure countries and in neighbouring countries and would be managed and supported by the High Commissioner for Refugees.
The transit or first call countries should be given the guarantee by the international community that refugees would leave their territories within a reasonable period. In return for such guarantees, these transit countries would commit themselves not to push out refugees.
At the resettlement stage, all countries, regardless of their ideologies, must bring their contributions, because the figures given so far are not globally sufficient to cope with the problem. We must come to a solution whereby all receiving countries should set a target figure. Some countries will need international assistance to achieve this target. It is necessary to promote the adjustment of the refugees to the social environment of the receiving country.
The Secretary-General, in co-operation with the High Commissioner for Refugees, should be responsible for ensuring the implementation of these provisions. He should report to the General Assembly at its next session.
As to France, itself, it has received 61,000 refugees since 1975, 95 percent of whom have found a home and a job within an average period of four months. France intends to do more on account of its links with the people concerned. It decided to receive 5,000 refugees more within the next few months.
The Khmer people are still living what is one of the major tragedies ever suffered by a nation since the end of World War II, its very existence is at stake. Therefore, I appeal here solemnly and urgently to the international community for the granting of food assistance to be distributed locally to every Cambodian without discrimination, by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
CARLOS P. ROMULO, Foreign Minister of the Philippines: President Marcos has just authorized me to inform the Conference, in order to help ensure its success, that the capacity of the Tara Processing Centre will be increased from 7,000 to 10,000 refugees. The President has also authorized me to offer, under United Nations funding and on the principle of no residuals, another processing centre for Indochinese refugees. The new processing centre will hold a maximum of 50,000 refugees.
The situation created by what is surely the greatest mass migration in history since the Diaspora poses problems which may affect not only the peace of ASEAN countries but the peace of the entire South-East Asia. The position of the Philippines is to increase the volume and speed of resettlement; to increase the financial contributions to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to establish more processing centres; to persuade other developing countries to accept Indochinese refugees for resettlement with the assurance of financial assistance from the international community; to remind all nations that boat cases and land refugees comprise the two aspects of the problem and should be resolved equally; and to seek the co-operation of Vietnam in regulating the outflow of refugees and in establishing its own processing centres.
Two members of ASEAN — Indonesia and the Philippines — have each offered islands as the site of processing centres. Though these are modest efforts in relation to the magnitude of the problem, the Philippines hopes that the example will be followed by other countries better able to handle this necessary task.
ARNALDO FORLANI, Foreign Affairs Minister, Italy: Italy has lent its support to the international initiatives in favour of the Indochinese refugees from the very beginning. In order to contribute to the implementation of the plan of action outlined by the High Commissioner for the near future, the Council of Ministers of the European Community has decided, with Italy’s full support, to concretely participate in the financial and food aid efforts. Italy has pledged for its part to make, as a special voluntary contribution to the High Commissioner’s Office in favour of the programme for Indochinese refugees, another extraordinary allocation of $736,000 in addition to the $783,000 already committed for 1979.
Another $117,000 will be donated by Italy to the High Commissioner for Refugees through the national commission for the International Year of the Child. Under this contribution is included the offer pledged by Italy to make a fully equipped medical team available for the High Commissioner to provide health care in refugee camps in South-East Asia.
Three units of Italy’s navy have been sent to South-East Asia to participate in rescue operations at sea of “boat people”. These units will take on board refugees willing to be resettled in Italy. These operations mean a further expenditure of approximately $2 million.
Italy has completed recently the departure from Thailand and Malaysia of a number of Indochinese families prepared to be resettled and to work in Italy. “Boat people” and other refugees that will be taken on board the ships of the Italian navy will, by the end of August, fill a first quota of 1,000 Indochinese refugees in Italy. Further groups of Indochinese refugees will be accommodated in Italy later on.
S. RAJARATNAM, Foreign Minister of Singapore: The way this Conference has been structured makes it unlikely to be any more successful than the two earlier conferences held on the same subject this year, and the result of which was a further acceleration of the flow of refugees. All I can hope for, should this approach fail for the third time, is that the world community summons up enough courage to fare its responsibilities.
Since we have been asked not to lay blame on the country where the refugees originates, may I ask that even more consideration be shown to countries which have been forced to take and then push those refugees away. A major and decisive contribution towards a solution of this problem is an immediate halting of the flow of refugees from Vietnam and also from Laos and Kampuchea. Unless this is done, the problem is unsolvable. Any practical contribution by the Vietnamese delegation towards this crucial aspect would be a decisive factor for the success or the failure of this Conference.
The second important element is the removal of the nearly 400,000 refugees now in ASEAN countries and whose continued presence imposes dangerous political, economic and social strains and, furthermore, contains within itself potentials for racial conflicts which could tear those societies apart.
As of now some one million refugees have to be absorbed, 400,000 in ASEAN countries and some 600,000 who, the Vietnamese authorities say, are awaiting expatriation.
Priority should be given to the expatriation of the 400,000 in ASEAN countries, while the 600,000 in Vietnam can be and should be processed in Vietnam itself. It is to be hoped that other participants in the Conference, as well as Vietnam, will show the same understanding and not come forward with solutions which will add to ASEAN’s burden.
The reluctance of ASEAN countries, who have until recently been offering first asylum, to continue adhering to this principle stemmed not from lack of humanitarian feelings, but from the not unreasonable fear that they might be left holding the refugee baby. Perhaps this Conference could provide them wit credible proof that this is not the case.
Following the statement of the Foreign Minister of Singapore, Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim said: “May I point out that contrary to the impression left by the previous speaker, we have already had significant expressions of additional support to help deal with the refugee problem. That is the whole purpose of our Conference. I am not as pessimistic as the Foreign Minister of Singapore.
“Why should we say at the very beginning of the Conference that the Conference will fail, that it will not produce more than previous conferences that were different conferences than the one we have organized here at such a high level and with such good intentions seen in most of the speeches that were heard this morning.
“I wish to put the record straight: as far as the debate is going, I am confident that if all delegations approach our work in a constructive spirit we can, indeed, make a major contribution, not only a major contribution, but achieve a real break-through in regard to this great humanitarian tragedy.”
HENRI SIMONET, Foreign Minister of Belgium: We believe that such a meeting would not be fulfilling its purpose if it were to get bogged down in a purely political discussion or in an attempt to determine where the responsibilities lie and to allocate the corresponding blame. Belgium has at present nearly 2,300 Indochinese inhabitants. It will shortly be admitting a further 2,000 refugees. The reception and permanent integration of these refugees will be effected at the cost of the State. In 1979 an amount of 156 million Belgian francs (over $7 million) has been allocated for this purpose. The Belgian Government gives asylum to refugees shipwrecked at sea and who are picked up by Belgian vessels. The countries of origin of the refugees should take all the appropriate measures to ensure that no one is compelled to escape from their territories and that those persons who wish to emigrate should be able to do under conditions of dignity and security. The countries of the third world should he encouraged to admit refugees who can participate actively in their economic and social development. To this end, an international fund should be established with the aid of private and public contributions. It is essential that the specialized agencies of the United Nations should mobilize even further their efforts, their capabilities and their resources for taking action so as to make their maximum contribution to the national and international efforts in favour of the refugees. Lastly, it would be useful to strengthen the action of the High Commissioner for Refugees not only by means of additional financial contributions but also by creating under his authority a temporary group consisting of officials highly qualified in various fields whose role would be to facilitate the resettlement of the refugees in various host countries. The group in question should be set up in South-East Asia so that it can perform its tasks in full awareness of existing needs and possibilities.
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UN/Kurt Waldheim Files/ S-0987/ 0009/17. Press Release, Secretary-General Opens Meeting on Refugees and Displaced Persons in South-East Asia, 20 July 1979.
Go to the scanned copy of the folder, p. 105 of the pdf file.