UNHCR: REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FROM EAST ASIA AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GENEVA 001609

SIPDIS

PRM FOR DAS RYAN; BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2010
TAGS: PGOV PREF PREL UNHCR
SUBJECT: UNHCR: REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FROM EAST ASIA AND
AFRICA DISCUSSED WITH PRM A/S KELLY RYAN


Classified By: Refugee Counselor Piper Campbell; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
)


1. (C) Summary: PRM DAS Kelly Ryan discussed ongoing and
potential refugee resettlement operations in separate
meetings with UNHCR Protection Director Erika Feller and
Asia Director Janet Lim in Geneva June 13. Pointing to the
fact that there is little access to the highlands and thus to
monitoring, DAS Ryan asked that UNHCR refer to the U.S. those
Vietnamese Montagnards in Cambodia who have not been yet been
granted refugee status by UNHCR. Ryan said colleagues from
DHS had reviewed samples of this group and concluded some
might qualify for resettlement in the U.S. under Lautenberg
Amendment provisions. DAS Ryan identified the situation of
Chin refugees in Malaysia and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
as pressing protection issues in the Asian region and drew
attention to the "1972 Burundians" and survivors of the
Gatumba camp massacre in the African region. Lim said she
views resettlement as an important tool to achieve
comprehensive solutions in protracted refugee situations.
Lim said UNHCR continues efforts to gain better access to the
Vietnamese Highlands to assess voluntary Montagnard returns,
and asked that the U.S. channel some of its development
funding through UNHCR. Regarding Bhutanese refugees in
Nepal, Lim expressed concern about deteriorating conditions
and Maoist influence in the camps. She proposed the
international community initiate a resettlement program to
try to jumpstart direct talks between Nepal and Bhutan on a
comprehensive solution. End Summary


2. (U) Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly Ryan from the
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration met Erika
Feller, Director of the Protection Division in the office of
the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and then
separately met with Asia Director Janet Lim on June 13. Lim
was accompanied by Senior Legal Officer Peter Janssen and
Senior Desk Officers Andrew Harper and Mark Rapoport.
PRM/Admissions Deputy Director Jan Belz and Joe Cassidy from
Mission Geneva also participated in the Lim meeting, while
Refugee Counselor Piper Campbell participated in the Feller
meeting.

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Resettlement as a UNHCR Priority
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3. (C) DAS Ryan thanked Lim for the Asia Bureau's
commitment to its more aggressive use of third-country
refugee resettlement in cases where appropriate. Lim said
resettlement was a "major focus" of her bureau and a
protection tool that is "firmly entrenched" in UNHCR working
methods because it provides leverage to achieve comprehensive
solutions. In Lim's view, Thailand and Malaysia serve as
excellent examples of cooperation on resettlement; she said
she would like to devote more attention to India, especially
the Afghan refugee caseload. She asked that PRM continue its
support for dedicated UNHCR resettlement positions in the
field to encourage the "upward trend." DAS Ryan and Belz
said U.S. support for resettlement positions could include
local positions and explained the ICMC deployment scheme,
which has not been used for this purpose in the region. In
the Feller meeting, Ryan urged UNHCR to be more creative in
thinking about what kind of staff could be provided under the
deployment scheme, citing UNHCR's need for temporary clerical
or local support in some operations.

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U.S. Offer to Examine Non-refugee Montagnards for Lautenberg
Amendment Eligibility
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4. (C) DAS Ryan urged UNHCR to consider referring the
Montagnards in Phnom Penh who have not been deemed refugees
by UNHCR to the U.S. for resettlement consideration as
Lautenberg Amendment cases. She told Feller and Lim that
UNHCR's refugee status determinations may have employed too
strict a standard and that many claimants would have been
found eligible under a U.S. adjudication process. Lim
welcomed the suggestion and said it could help improve
relations between UNHCR and the Cambodian government.
Rapoport asked about another irritant in the Cambodia-UNHCR
relationship, the so-called "refusniks," or refugees who
refused repatriation or resettlement, explaining that some in
this category may fear that accepting resettlement would
permanently separate them from their families. DAS Ryan
stressed that derivative refugee consideration is possible
for spouses and children under the age of twenty-one to allow
families to reunite in the U.S. following resettlement of
part of the family. Feller warned that the Cambodians seem
determined to move on returning refusniks; that there was "no
law requiring Cambodia not to return" people found not to be
refugees; and that UNHCR stood by its screening. However,
Feller noted that an increasing number of refusniks and
refugees who had been reluctant to resettle seemed to be
changing their minds. She also indicated an openness to
exploring the possible referral of cases on humanitarian
grounds. Feller provided Ryan a copy of UNHCR's response to
a letter by human rights specialist Peter Lauprecht. Ryan
committed to provide UNHCR a paper prepared by DHS colleagues
explaining how Lautenberg could apply in the Montagnard cases.

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UNHCR Working Toward Better Access to Vietnamese Highlands
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5. (C) DAS Ryan said one essential part of the solution for
the Montagnard caseload would be access by UNHCR and other
international organizations to the Vietnamese Highlands to
monitor voluntary returns. Another would be the willingness
of the Vietnamese government to grant exit permits to those
Vietnamese accepted for resettlement from within Vietnam.
Lim said UNHCR is still awaiting Vietnamese approval for
deployment of an expatriate Head of Mission in Hanoi. (He is
currently forward deployed to Bangkok.) She asked that the
U.S. consider earmarking funding for UNHCR to conduct
development-related activities in the Highlands that would
provide the opportunity for a "routine pattern of visits" to
that area.

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Concern about "Angry Young" Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal
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6. (C) Lim expressed serious concern about the
politicization of the Bhutanese camps in Nepal, especially
the growing Maoist influence. She said Maoists are seen as
now running the "justice system" in the camp and its
ideological attraction for "angry young men" is significant.
She proposed that the international community jump-start
movement towards a comprehensive solution by launching a
resettlement program for a small group of cases considered to
be most vulnerable. Rather than wait for a bilateral
agreement between Nepal and Bhutan, the international
community could create needed momentum for consideration of
other durable solutions by demonstrating its commitment to
resettling appropriate cases. Lim said that refugees are
increasingly willing to consider resettlement as an option,
but that the Nepali government was giving mixed signals. Lim
proposed that UNHCR provide more detailed information on a
possible group of vulnerable Bhutanese cases comprising
1500-5000 individuals.

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Resettling Burmese from Thailand and Malaysia
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7. (C) DAS Ryan told Lim the U.S. is considering whether
more Burmese might qualify for resettlement in the U.S. under
the Lautenberg Amendment. DAS Ryan identified the situation
of the ethnic Chin in Malaysia and the Rohingyas in
Bangladesh as particular protection concerns. Ryan praised
UNHCR Malaysia's work and noted that it was interesting how a
number of Chin in India are married to those in Malaysia --
which might result in resettlement from both sites. She said
our resettlement efforts in Thailand's Tham Hin Refugee Camp
would continue our focus on refugees in protracted
situations.

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African Resettlement
--------------


8. (C) In the meeting with Feller, Ryan also raised African
groups likely to be identified for resettlement. She
mentioned the need for speedy resettlement of survivors of
the Gatumba camp massacre, who reportedly are receiving new
threats. She urged that processing of this group not wait
for registration of the larger Banyamulenge population. She
said the Targeted Response Team (TRT) had had a good visit to
Tanzania. She anticipated moving ahead on resettlement
processing of some 15,000 "1972 Burundians" in coming months.


9. (U) This cable was cleared by DAS Ryan.
Moley