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Cablegate: Request for Resettlement Assistance of Certain

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000666

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/WCI - AMBASSADOR PROSPER, EAP/FO, AND EAP/ANP
NSC FOR VICTOR CHA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015
TAGS: KAWC MOPS PREL PTER PHUM PREF PINR NZ
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR RESETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE OF CERTAIN
DETAINEES FROM GUANTANAMO

REF: SECSTATE 158272

Classified By: ACTING DCM KATHERINE B. HADDA,
FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D).

This message contains an action request, at paras 1 and 7.

1. (C) Summary: New Zealand is willing to consider taking in
Uigher refugees from Guantanamo, but would at a minimum need
a request from the UNHCR to start the process. Both Minister
of Foreign Affairs Goff and Immigration Minister Swain will
make the final decision of whether to admit the Uighers.
Please advise post if and when UNHCR would be willing to make
the request. End Summary.

2. (C) Acting DCM raised the U.S. request with Simon
Murdoch, CEO of New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (FYI: The CEO is the highest civil servant in the
Ministry.) Murdoch said that he would urge relevant
officials to give the request full consideration, but
cautioned that there were many strikes against it: New
Zealand generally only takes refugees at the UNHCR's request,
and has already exceeded its UNHCR quota for 2005 and 2006.
In addition, New Zealand has no Uigher community, and
government policy is to give priority to those refugees who
can draw from existing communities for support as they adjust
to NZ life.

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3. (C) Acting DCM thanked Murdoch for his consideration of
the request and told him that we have already been working
with UNHCR and others. She said that New Zealand is an open
society with a long history of taking in refugees and other
immigrants, as well as tolerance towards these groups. For
this reason, we rank New Zealand high on the list of
potential homes for the refugees. We also consider
significant New Zealand's well-assimilated, multinational
Muslim community, which might be willing to help the
refugees. ADCM acknowledged that there are no Uighers in New
Zealand, but said that depending on the background of
individual refugees, it may also be possible that some
members of New Zealand's large Chinese population could help
them settle into life here. She repeated Washington's offer
to provide more detailed background on the detainees if
helpful. (Comment: New Zealand's pre-war Chinese and sizable
Taiwan communities are among those Chinese-speaking New
Zealanders who are not particularly pro-PRC and therefore
possibly able/willing to help. End Comment.)

4. (C) Acting DCM also made the request to Mary Anne
Thompson, Workforce Deputy Secretary at the Department of
Labour. (FYI: Thompson, a former member of PM Clark's staff,
is an influential player on NZ immigration matters.)
Thompson said that she would recommend to the Prime
Minister's Department and others that GNZ should keep an open
mind about the request. She said that a letter from UNHCR
supporting the request would be "most helpful," as more and
more it is GNZ's emphasis to only admit UNHCR-sponsored
refugees. She said that if and when GNZ received such a
letter, they would look at the individual potential refugees
and their circumstances. GNZ would also want to send people
to interview the detainees, to determine whether they would
be willing/able to contribute to NZ society over time, and
whether they could be a security risk. In the meantime,
Thompson said, she would quietly advise staff working on
refugee matters that a UNHCR request "may be coming." Given
the sensitivity of the issue, she asked that we keep it
confidential. ADCM assured her that we would, as we have

SIPDIS
similar concerns.

5. (C) Thompson also noted that NZ preference is to admit
refugees from groups with existing communities here, but took
on board ADCM's suggestion that some Chinese New Zealanders
and Muslim New Zealanders may be able to help. Thompson also
noted that if GNZ decided to take in any of the detainees, it
would rather take in a group of them (i.e., "10 to 12")
rather than one or two. This would make assimilation easier,
she said. GNZ would also admit the refugees' families, as
appropriate.

6. (C) Comment: GNZ is negotiating a free trade agreement
with China and is pursuing close relations with the Chinese
on many levels. That being said, they continue to draw the
line against direct or indirect support for China's human
rights violations. Although clearly cautious, GNZ officials
may well be willing to consider taking in the Uighers if we
continue to take a quietly, quietly approach as well as work
through the UNHCR on the request. End Comment.

7. (C) Action Request: Please advise whether and when it
would be possible for UNHCR to make a formal request for GNZ
to consider taking in some of the Uigher detainees.
Burnett

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