Vietnamese Refugees: Resettlement (Hansard, 29 November 1989)

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, at the International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees held in Geneva in June, resettlement countries pledged sufficient places to ensure the resettlement of all refugees in the region, including the 13,000 in Hong Kong, within three years. The United Kingdom pledged to resettle a further 2,000 in addition to the 13,000 we have accepted from Hong Kong since 1979. So far, over 3,700 have been resettled from Hong Kong this year.

§ Lord Hylton
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his helpful Answer. Which department is in charge of the resettlement work both in Hong Kong and in London and is it adequately staffed? Further, have all those cases due for family reunion already left Hong Kong to come to Britain?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, as regards Hong Kong and the UK, we consider lists of people suitable for resettlement here drawn up by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Those lists include those boat people who have expressed a preference for the United Kingdom. In this country the Home Office is responsible for the immediate reception arrangements. Subsequent resettlement involves the responsibilities of a number of departments and local authorities but the Home Office has the co-ordinating role. It is difficult to estimate the precise number of staff involved and voluntary agencies play a very important role throughout. As regards family reunion cases, the reunification of families is an important element in our resettlement programme and the first of those selected under those criteria have arrived in the United Kingdom.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, while I recognise that this is by any standards an appallingly difficult problem for Her Majesty's Government, and indeed for the Government of Hong Kong, will the Minister say whether the Government have given consideration to the restoration of bilateral aid to the Government of Vietnam as that might conceivably, in appropriate circumstances, help to reduce the number of emigrants? Will the Minister also tell the House whether the Government have approached our friends the United States, the Commonwealth countries and our partners in the Community with a view to those countries taking any of the Vietnamese refugees?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, the Question refers specifically to those refugees who have been granted full refugee status. Therefore, it does not refer to the rather larger numbers who are illegal immigrants. As regards Vietnam, I have very little 420 to add to what I said in my speech on this matter just a week ago. We certainly do not rule out reintegration assistance as part of a comprehensive repatriation programme. There are many countries involved in the resettlement of those with full refugee status, including the United States which is the first choice of nearly all of those who are granted refugee status. However, everywhere from Australia to West Germany alphabetically, and many other countries between, have agreed to take quotas.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, in view of the allegedly critical statement which has been made by President Bush to the Prime Minister, does the Minister know whether the United States has made any response by offering to take some of these refugees?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, we are on two different points here. The Question concerns those who have been granted full refugee status. The United States has agreed to take a number of those and has so far this year taken over 1,000 altogether. On the matter of the non-refugees, neither the United States nor any other country has agreed to take any of them. That is, of course, the problem.

§ Lord Bonham-Carter
My Lords, will the Minister help me in this matter? While agreeing with the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, and suggesting that if this country took a rather more forward position the response of other countries might be more generous, I should like to put three questions to the Minister.

Noble Lords
Two!

§ Lord Bonham-Carter
All right, two. If the Minister were to answer two questions it would be a great relief because we do not generally get an answer at all from the Front Bench.
Do applicants for permanent resettlement have any right to appear at a hearing? It is my understanding that they do not. Secondly, do they receive a written decision? It is my understanding that they do not. Is it not a breach of human rights for people to be consigned to forcible repatriation to a country in which many of those who are in the same situation are classified as criminals? Is not forcible repatriation to such a country, without the right of a hearing and without the right to a written decision, a breach of human rights?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, the noble Lord began his question by saying that we never gave any answers from this Front Bench. I could answer that accusation by saying that the noble Lord's question is not related to the one on the Order Paper which deals with those who have been given full refugee status. The noble Lord's question refers to those who have not been given full refugee status.
Screening is carried out as defined by the 1951 United Nations convention and the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. It has evolved with the co-operation of the UNHCR. It is monitored by that body and there is a full appeals procedure conducted by an independent body. I do not believe that it could be fairer than that.

§ Lord Bonham-Carter
My Lords, the noble Lord has not answered my question.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, is the Minister aware that the Government have quite properly endeavoured to seek assistance in this very difficult issue from the United Nations, the EC and the Commonwealth? From the answer to my noble friend Lord Cledwyn it would appear that they have also endeavoured to involve other South-East Asian countries. Ought they nevertheless to continue to try to make one fundamental point? They have asked free democratic countries to assist rather than the boat people having to be forcibly repatriated to a country with one of the most vicious communist governments in the world. Is it not worth making that point once more to those who have already been approached?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, the issue was gone through at the Geneva conference in June. No country agreed to resettle those who were not granted refugee status. As I have said, that was the vast majority of them. The problem is that, if countries agreed to take refugees, in addition to the 57,000 that there are now in Hong Kong there would be another 57,000 in the next few months and a further 57,000 after that.

§ Lord Monson
My Lords, can the noble Lord say whether there has been any progress in the negotiations started some time ago between various Western governments and the Government of the Philippines which involved the possible allocation of uninhabited islands of the Philippines for the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, so far as I am aware those negotiations continue. That solution would be for those classed as refugees. However, no decision has yet been taken.

§ Baroness Elles
My Lords, will the Minister kindly tell the House whether the Government of Vietnam have either given or intend to give any guarantee that those illegal immigrants who are returned to Vietnam will not be tortured, arbitrarily arrested or in any way ill-treated? That information might help the House.

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, that is one of the most important factors that we need to take into account. The return of the illegal immigrants will be monitored and needs to be monitored to make sure that they are not being persecuted in Vietnam. So far there is no evidence that that is happening in the case of those who have returned.

§ Lord Tordoff
My Lords is the noble Lord aware that in the lunchtime papers today it appears that the Government of Vietnam have announced that they will refuse to accept back refugees who have been forcibly repatriated? Have the Government any comment on that report?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, we stray well from the Question on the Order Paper, which is about those who are genuine refugees. I am sure that 422 the subject of the non-refugees is a topical one. It is one that I dealt with in the debate last week and one that I have no doubt we shall come back to.

§ Baroness Ewart-Biggs
My Lords, the Minister told his noble friend that the return of the non-refugees would be monitored but he did not say by whom. Can he tell the House who would do the monitoring?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, we have strayed from the Question on the Order Paper. We should return to that Question. We can discuss the non-refugees on another occasion.