Viet Nam: Information on the treatment of Vietnamese returned involuntarily to Vietnam
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | VNM1106 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Viet Nam: Information on the treatment of Vietnamese returned involuntarily to Vietnam, 1 June 1989, VNM1106, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab1648.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Vietnam has signed an agreement with the UNHCR in which it has assured that those who voluntarily agree to return to the country would not be punished. [ U.S Committee for Refugees, World Refugee Survey: 1988 in Review(Washington, 1989), p. 12.] The UNHCR also has indicated that it is monitoring the treatment of voluntary returnees, but in October 1988 gave no indication of whether countries which had received repatriated citizens were complying with their guarantees. [ "The seven principles of voluntary repatriation," Refugee, October 1988, p. 34.]
In August 1986, the Attorney General of Hong Kong stated that no Vietnamese would be forcibly returned to Vietnam unless there were assurances that they would "not be treated inhumanely". He also added that at that time, "there could be no question of turning them away". [ Ben Tierney, "Hong Kong: New kind of refugee obscuring light at the end of the tunnel," The Citizen [Ottawa], 2 August 1986.] In May 1987, the Vietnamese government indicated that expatriates could return home for vacations. [ "Vietnamese `boat people' will be allowed to return home as tourists," The Citizen [Ottawa], 7 May 1987, p. A18.]
On 14 June 1989, a "plan of action" was adopted at the International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees in June 1989, which states that "Persons determined not to be refugees should return to their country of origin in accordance with international practices reflecting the responsibilities of states towards their own citizens." [ "International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees Adopts Declaration and Comprehensive Plan of Action," UNHCR Information (Ottawa, 14 June 1989).] At the conference however, the foreign minister of Vietnam stated that his country would take back only those who came voluntarily, assuring them of humanitarian treatment. [ Henry Kamm, "Britain and Vietnam Still at Odds on Refugees," The New York Times, 15 June 1989, p. A19.] In July 1988, Vietnam had said it would take back Vietnamese "turned down" by other countries, but it gave no details or guarantees of their treatment upon return. [ "Vietnam agrees to refugee return," The Globe and Mail [Toronto], 15 July 1988.] Other recent reports do not provide specific information on what would happen to Vietnamese citizens forcibly returned to their homeland. They give the impression that none have thus far been returned in this manner. It appears that Vietnam has not provided the same guarantees of humanitarian treatment of returnees, as it did in the December 1988 agreement on voluntary repatriation. [ See World Refugee Survey, p. 12; and "A turning point," Refugee, December 1988, pp. 21-2.]
