HC Deb 29 June 1992 vol 210 cc407-9W
Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of Vietnamese migrants forcibly repatriated to Vietnam who have subsequently returned to Hong Kong.

Mr. Goodlad

None of the 161 Vietnamese migrants returned to Vietnam under the orderly repatriation programme has returned to Hong Kong.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what improvements are planned in the conditions under which Vietnamese migrants are held in Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Goodlad

Facilities in the camps are kept under constant review and repair or improvement works are carried out where necessary. The Vietnamese migrant population is steadily decreasing and it will soon be possible to close some of the temporary camps altogether.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guarantees he has received from the Government of Vietnam that migrants forcibly repatriated from Hong Kong will not suffer punitive and discriminatory action; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Goodlad

In the statement of understanding signed by the British, Hong Kong and Vietnamese Governments on 29 October 1991, the Vietnamese undertook that no Vietnamese migrant returning from Hong Kong would be persecuted and that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees would have access to them for monitoring purposes. They have reaffirmed this undertaking on several occasions.

More than 20,000 migrants have now returned from the region to Vietnam. There has not been a single substantiated case of persecution.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what screening procedures are applied before any Vietnamese migrants are forcibly repatriated from Hong Kong camps; and what legal advice is made available to them.

Mr. Goodlad

Vietnamese asylum-seekers arriving in Hong Kong are interviewed by immigration officers using the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' guidelines for the determination of refugee status. Those who are found not to be refugees may appeal to the refugee status review board. Legal consultants operating under the auspices of UNHCR are on hand to assist applicants.

The screening procedure is supervised by the high commissioner's staff who have unrestricted access to asylum-seekers at each stage.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about the number of lawyers employed in the Hong Kong camps in which Vietnamese migrants are housed; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Goodlad

The number of lawyers employed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a matter for her decision, but such questions are regularly discussed by participants at meetings about the comprehensive plan of action for Indo-Chinese asylum seekers.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about the resources she has available to monitor the experience of Vietnamese migrants repatriated to Vietnam from Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Goodlad

Returning migrants are monitored by the staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, based in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, who undertake frequent visits to returnees' home villages. We regularly review the position with them.

Monitoring visits are also carried out by the staff of the British embassy in Hanoi and by various nongovernmental organisations.