GVN REPORTEDLY DOES NOT WANT U.S. RESETTLEMENT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 000090 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, PRM BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2017 TAGS: PREF TH LA VM SUBJECT: GVN REPORTEDLY DOES NOT WANT U.S. RESETTLEMENT FOR VIETNAMESE HMONG REF: A. 06 HANOI 3033 ¶B. BANGKOK 270 Classified By: POL/C Marc Knapper per 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary: According to UNHCR, the GVN does not object to the third-country resettlement of the 42 Vietnamese Hmong in Thailand. However, the GVN has caveated its position by requesting that UNHCR not resettle the Hmong in the United States for fear of creating a draw for more Hmong to leave Vietnam. End Summary. ¶2. (C) UNHCR Hanoi Chief of Mission Vu Anh Son told Pol/C on January 16 that the GVN continues to have no objection to the third-country resettlement of the 42 Vietnamese Hmong currently in Thailand. (Note: The 42 Vietnamese Hmong were rounded up with 152 Laotian Hmong. End Note.) Son noted that the GVN's initial position on the 42 Vietnamese Hmong was that they must be returned to Vietnam because third-country resettlement would only create a magnet for more Hmong to leave Vietnam. According to the Son, his GVN interlocutors had at first expressed great concern about what a large Hmong outflow into Laos would do to stability in the Northwest Highlands. "They thought it would dwarf the challenges in the Central Highlands," Son reported. ¶3. (C) However, although the GVN does not object to the third-country resettlement of the 42 Vietnamese Hmong, the Vietnamese authorities have caveated their position by requesting that UNHCR not resettle these Hmong in the United States. "The GVN seems to believe that Hmong resettlement in the United States will attract attention, strengthen the U.S. Hmong community and create a draw for more Hmong to seek to leave Vietnam," Son said. ¶4. (C) According to Son, a five-person GVN team will travel to Bangkok for a meeting with UNHCR on January 24 to discuss this matter. UNHCR hopes to begin its interviews with the Vietnamese Hmong sometime after the Tet (lunar new year) holiday in mid-February, Son said. MARINE