asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom representative at the United Nations to raise the matter of the Vietnamese refugees with a view to initiating an appeal by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for member States to consider applications on an individual basis from those in need of refuge in consequence of the events in Vietnam, along the same lines as were adopted in the case of Chile.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees approached about 30 member States of the United Nations, including the United Kingdom, on 8th May, in order to assess what solutions could be found for the permanent resettlement of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees prior to making a formal appeal. Our reply is still under consideration.