WRITTEN QUESTION E-3915/03 by Marco Pannella (NI), Maurizio Turco (NI), Marco Cappato (NI),Gianfranco Dell'Alba (NI), Benedetto Della Vedova (NI)and Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission. Forced repatriation to Vietnam of Montagnard refugees by the Cambodian government and the repeated violation of the UN Convention on Refugees.
Date: 2003-12-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cambodia, EU relations, UN convention, UNHCR, Viet Nam, aid to refugees, cooperation agreement (EU), refugee, return migration

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/673

(2004/C 78 E/0716)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3913/03

by Ole Krarup (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 December 2003)

Subject: Oil extraction agreement: granting of authorisations

Does the Commission consider that the Danish government’s agreement with A.P. Møller and the Dansk
Undergrund Consortium on the conditions for oil extraction over the next 40 years in the North Sea meets
the requirement that authorisations ‘shall be granted on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory
principles’ (Article 13 of Directive 94/22/EC (1) on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for
the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons)? If so,
is it aware of any examples of
comparable concession conditions?

(1) OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 February 2004)

The Commission has asked the Member State concerned for information regarding the facts raised to by
the Honourable Member. It will inform him of its findings.

(2004/C 78 E/0717)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3915/03

by Marco Pannella (NI), Maurizio Turco (NI), Marco Cappato (NI),
Gianfranco Dell’Alba (NI), Benedetto Della Vedova (NI)
and Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(17 December 2003)

Subject: Forced repatriation to Vietnam of Montagnard refugees by the Cambodian government and the

repeated violation of the UN Convention on Refugees

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, in mid-November 2003 the Cambodian authorities forcibly
repatriated the last eleven of sixty Montagnard refugees in Cambodia, handing them over to the
Vietnamese authorities when they left the malaria-infected forest last July after Cambodian fishermen were
forced to reveal their whereabouts to the Cambodian authorities.

All sixty Montagnards belong to the Jarai tribe and the provincial police in Ratanakiri have confirmed their
deportation although they have not said exactly when this took place and the inhabitants of the village of
O Lvea have confirmed that the last refugees were rounded up and arrested by the police in the forest in
Koh Nhek district between Ratanakiri and Mondolkiri provinces. No information concerning the fate of the
sixty refugees has been provided either by the Cambodian authorities or by the Vietnamese authorities and
reports from the local population confirm that all sixty had contracted malaria after living for months on a
diet of tubers and bamboo, as the police had prevented local fishermen from providing them with any
assistance since October. The Cambodian police authorities have issued contradictory statements
concerning the presence of Montagnard refugees on their territory, failing to provide them with any
assistance but handing them over to the Vietnamese authorities in exchange for food and money, as
recently documented by various independent sources.

Son Chhay, a Cambodian Member of Parliament from the Sam Rainsy party, and even the King of
Cambodia have pointed out in recent months that the government of Cambodia is repeatedly violating the
Refugee Convention, under which it has a duty to provide assistance to refugees on its territory.

C 78 E/674

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Cambodian NGOs have repeatedly condemned the impossibility of obtaining information from the
government on the situation of the Montagnard refugees and providing them with humanitarian aid; the
office of the UNHCR in Cambodia has supported the Cambodian Government’s actions in an unacceptable
way, suspending all assistance and support for the Montagnard refugees in the provinces bordering
Vietnam despite knowing about the arrests, forced repatriation and brutality, as well as the illnesses
contracted by hundreds of Montagnard refugees during the past year and a half;

The Commission:

(cid:1) what action, if any, will it take to verify and ensure that the Cambodian government observes the
1951 UN Refugee Convention, putting an end to arrests and the forced repatriation of Montagnard
refugees who are fleeing political and religious oppression by the Vietnamese authorities, as
condemned by the European Parliament in the resolution adopted in November 2003;

(cid:1) what pressure does it intend to put on the UNHCR, both in Geneva and in Cambodia, to guarantee
that the Montagnard refugees hiding in the jungle on the border will not be arrested and sold by the
Cambodian police to the Vietnamese police who are patrolling the area and frequently crossing the
border into Cambodia;

(cid:1) does it not consider that, unless the Cambodian and Vietnamese governments cease this action
immediately, the cooperation agreements with them should be suspended as the Commission is
effectively financing policies which violate human rights rather than ensuring that they are observed?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2004)

The Commission is aware of the plight of Montagnard refugees crossing the Vietnamese-Cambodian
border. While many of these exiles do not seem to have claimed refugee status under the Geneva
Convention, effective monitoring of the situation on both sides of the border, including of the fate of those
returning to Vietnam,
is not possible due to the breakdown of 2001 Tripartite Agreement between
Cambodia, Vietnam and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Commission
is also aware of
the deportations referred to in the question and is trying to obtain independent
confirmation of these reports.

The Union is supporting efforts by the UNHCR to find a way out of the present quagmire, encouraging
both Cambodia and Vietnam to return to the Tripartite Agreement, or some similar arrangement. The
UNHCR has initiated discussions with the Royal Government of Cambodia on the preparation of a new
system for dealing with asylum seekers in Cambodia in accordance with both Cambodia’s obligations
under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the internal law and territorial integrity
of the Kingdom. The Commission supports this approach and looks forward to the successful completion
of these discussions. The allegations concerning UNHCR support to ‘the Cambodian Government’s action
in an unacceptable way’, referring to the forced return of refugees to Vietnam, are in our view neither
substantiated nor confirmed by reliable sources.

The reference to the respect for Human Rights and democratic principles in the Community Co-operation
Agreements with Vietnam and Cambodia enables the Commission to address human rights issues in its
bilateral contacts with the Governments of these countries.

As regards Vietnam, the Union, in its Human Rights dialogue as well as during the Troika Heads of
Mission visit to the Central Highlands in December 2003, has reiterated concerns about the situation in
the Central Highlands and pressed for increased transparency, i.e. through allowing free access of UNHCR
and other United Nations bodies.

Finally, the Commission would never ‘finance policies which violate human rights’. Respect for and defense
of Human Rights remain at the heart of our dialogue and cooperation with third countries.