STATE DEPT. ANNOUNCEMENT ON U.S.-CUBA MIGRATION TALKS
USIA
03 December 1998
TEXT: STATE DEPT. ANNOUNCEMENT ON U.S.-CUBA MIGRATION TALKS
(Talks will be held Dec. 4 in Havana) (250)
WASHINGTON -- The State Department announced Dec. 3 that U.S.-Cuba
migration talks are scheduled to take place Dec. 4 in Havana.
Following is the text of the announcement:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
December 3, 1998
Statement by James B. Foley, Deputy Spokesman
U.S.-CUBA MIGRATION TALKS
The United States and Cuba will hold the tenth in their current series
of migration talks on December 4th in Havana. We have held these talks
periodically since the signing of the September 1994 migration accord.
As with previous talks, the purpose of this round will be to review
technical details and ensure the continued smooth operation and
implementation of the existing migration accords. The talks deal
exclusively with migration issues.
The September 9, 1994, and May 2, 1995, migration accords have proved
successful in discouraging the dangerous outflow of migrants in
unseaworthy vessels, while ensuring that we protect persons who
qualify as refugees. The accords have also significantly expanded
opportunities for safe, legal and orderly migration from Cuba to the
United States. As a result, many lives that would have been lost at
sea have been saved, and many families separated for decades across
the Florida straits have been safely and legally reunited in the
United States.
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