Speech #1000106999

Mr. President. I appreciate the initiative of my colleague. the senior Senator from Oregon in presenting this amendment on protection and assistance for Indochinese refugees in Southeast Asia. I was an original sponsor of this proposal and am glad to associate myself with the concepts and purposes that it sets forth. All of us recognize that protection and assistance for refugees is a worldwide problem. The United States has long been in the lead of nations helping to respond to the needs of refugees. Just this week the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. JeanPierre Hocke. the very qualified and energetic Swiss who previously served with great distinction as Director of Operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross. is meeting with his Executive Committee in Geneva. Switzerland. The United States. represented by our U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. Ambassador at Large Jonathan Moore. is participating actively in the meetings of the Executive Committee. demonstrating anew the American commitment to do our share for the worlds refugees. At any given time there are some groups of refugees that stand in particular need. and particular groups for whom U.S. responsibility is especially keen. To say this does not understate the needs of other refugees. and. indeed. all refugees. The recognition that the United States has special responsibilities in certain areas does not diminish our concern for other refugees elsewhere. Aid to refugees should not be viewed as a zerosum game. in which helping one group comes at the expense of aid to others. United States programs have long recognized some refugees as of special concern. without in the least detracting from our commitment to help refugees elsewhere. So I welcome the Senators initiative in proposing this amendment. as a timely reminder of our special concern and responsibility for Indochinese refugees. All of us know that the American people have done a great deal for the Indochinese refugees. nearly a million of whom have joined us as new Americans since the fall of Vietnam. Laos. and Cambodia in 1975. And we have gained from them. The great majority of the Indochinese living among us are selfsupporting as productive citizens and residents of our country. There is no greater concentration of Indochinese than in my own State of Rhode Island. In proportion to our population. we have the highest number of Indochinese refugees of any State in the Nation. From my own contacts with refugees. I am personally aware of their concern about their relatives who remain stranded in Southeast Asia. Our refugee programs should continue to be used with flexibility and good will to bring about family reunions. in addition to cases that can be assisted through immigration procedures and the individual approvals of humanitarian parole. There are Cambodians. for example. in the gravest need of protection stranded along the Thai/Cambodian border. whose relatives in our country are tormented by the daily awareness of the plight of their loved ones. We must act to help these people without further delay. This amendment restates Americas special responsibility for the resettlement and protection needs of the Indochinese refugees. It recognizes the tremendous burdens that have been carried by the front line countries in Southeast Asia that have provided first asylum for the refugees. I join in expressing our appreciation to Hong Kong. Indonesia. Malaysia. Singapore. the Philippines. and Thailand. Just last week I had the honor of meeting with the Foreign Minister of Thailand for discussion of the continuing refugee situation as it effects that country. Foreign Minister Sitthi said that his country would continue to be helpful. and he specifically undertook to facilitate the processing of some 2.000 cases of Cambodians with relatives in the United States. It is up to our own Government to take advantage of this opportunity through our State Department and the Immigration Service to see that these family reunification cases are processed quickly. for immigration visas. humanitarian parole. and for refugee admissions as authorized by the Refugee Act of 1980. and as carried out resourcefully in the past by our overseas refugee processing offices. If Thailand is prepared to let us process these cases. on the border and at the KhaoiDang refugee camps. we should act quickly to take advantage of this humanitarian window of opportunity. No aspect of this amendment is more important than its call for improved protection of the Indochinese refugees. The increase resettlement programs that it envisages can at best help only a small proportion of those remaining. particularly if one includes the over 250.000 Cambodians on the border. So protection will remain central. This amendment encourages us to continue to work closely with the first asylum countries. with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and with the International Committee of the Red Cross. to secure such protection as long as it is needed. I commend the Senator from Oregon for presenting it. Mr.