Following is the text of the statement:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 12, 2001

STATEMENT BY PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN

Processing of Refugees in Cambodia

The United States Government commends the decision of the Royal Government of Cambodia on its decision to grant the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees access to 24 Vietnamese Montagnards who recently arrived in Phnom Penh. This is consistent with Cambodia's obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. We further welcome the decision by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to allow processing for third country resettlement those persons determined by the UN to be refugees, consistent with provisions of the Convention. The nature of this process is and should be based on adherence to the obligations of parties to the UN Convention.