US embassy cable - 05GENEVA1609

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 
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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