Source: IOM
Nepal - IOM's resettlement programme for Bhutanese refugees from camps in eastern Nepal, which started in January 2008, has now assisted over 10,000 people.
The refugees, known as Lhotsampas, have been resettled in the United States (9,032), Australia (520), New Zealand (186), Denmark (140), Norway (109), the Netherlands (55), Canada (33) and Sweden (3).
More than 105,000 Lhotsampas, who are of ethnic Nepali origin, fled to seven camps in the Jhapa and Morang regions of Nepal 17 years ago following Bhutan's decision to revoke their citizenship and to expel them.
Subsequent negotiations to allow them to return to Bhutan failed and in September 2007 the Nepalese government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IOM to carry out resettlement activities in Damak, the Nepali town closest to the camps.
The activities include the processing of cases referred to resettlement countries by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as the medical screening, cultural orientation and travel arrangements of refugees accepted for resettlement.
IOM opened a sub-office in Damak in December 2007 and now employs over 200 local staff operating in Damak and all seven Lhotsampas camps.
"IOM would like to express gratitude to the government of Nepal and to our partners at UNHCR for their continuous support of the resettlement programme," says the head of the IOM Damak sub-office David Derthick.
"In 2008 more than 8,000 Bhutanese refugees left the camps. We hope to more than double that number to between 16,000 and 18,000 in 2009," he added.
For more information please contact:
Ann Strandoo
IOM Damak
Tel: +9779851108084
E-mail: astrandoo@iom.int
Friday, February 20, 2009
IOM Resettlement of Bhutanese Refugees Hits 10,000 Mark
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
IOM Assists Over 8,000 Bhutanese Refugees to Resettle Abroad
Nepal - IOM has this year helped over 8,000 ethnic Nepali Bhutanese leave refugee camps in Eastern Nepal and resettle in third countries, including the United States (US), Australia and New Zealand.This year the US accepted over 7,500 refugees, Australia accepted 365 and 134 were resettled in New Zealand. A smaller number were resettled in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.
More than 105,000 of the refugees, known as Lhotsampas, fled to seven Nepali camps in Jhapa and Morang regions 17 years ago, following Bhutan’s decision to revoke their citizenship and expel them.
Subsequent negotiations to allow them to return to Bhutan failed and in September 2007 the Government of Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IOM to carry out resettlement activities in Damak, the Nepali town closest to the camps.
These include the processing of cases referred to resettlement countries by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, as well as the medical screening, cultural orientation and travel arrangements of refugees accepted for resettlement.
IOM opened a sub-office in Damak in December 2007 and now employs over 200 local staff operating in Damak and all seven Lhotsampa camps.
"The pace of the operation is now picking up," says David Derthick, Head of IOM Damak. "Our resettlement numbers have gone from fewer than 100 in 2007 to over 8,000 this year. The decision of whether to opt for resettlement or not is entirely up to the families concerned, but next year we expect to move between 16,000 to 18,000 people," he notes.
While most of the Lhotsampas are expected to resettle in the US, Australia and Canada, several other countries including New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands have also agreed to resettle some of the refugees.
For more information please contact:
David Derthick
IOM Damak
Tel: +977 98511085
E-mail: dderthick@iom.int
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Resettlement to be halted
According to the information given by David Derthick, chief of IOM in Damak, the works for resettlement will be halted from December 19. However, he did not mention when the work will resume.
He informed a total of 7,297 exiled Bhutanese have been resettled so far –6,813 in the US, 30 in Australia, 149 in New Zealand, 19 in Norway, 17 in the Netherlands and 13 in Denmark.
Those expressing interest for resettlement has reached 62,000, he said. Bhutan News Service
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Over 3,000 Bhutanese resettled: IOM
Source: The Kathmandu Post
BY LILA BARAL
Over 3,000 Bhutanese refugees, who were languishing in sub-human conditions in UNHCR-administered camps in eastern Nepal, have been resettled in the US, Denmark, Australia and other countries under the third country resettlement program.
An official at the International Office for Migration (IOM), which is playing a key role in the resettlement process, said that the process is continuing smoothly and as planned.
"So far, altogether 3,247 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled in various countries," he said. Among them, 3,034 were taken to the US, 102 went to New Zealand and 19 headed for Norway. Likewise, 13 and 62 others were taken to Denmark and Australia respectively, while 17 refugees were resettled in the Netherlands.
IOM plans to resettle over 8,500 refugees under the third country resettlement program, most of whom will go to the US.
"Although the resettlement process was objected to by a certain group of refugees in the beginning, the process is underway without any obstruction now," said Govinda Koirala, a staffer at IOM. "If everything goes as planned, all the refugees of one of the camps will be resettled in new countries by the end of December this year."
Many other refugees, who are waiting for their turn after already sending over some of their kin, said that they were now upbeat as those relatives were sending back positive messages from abroad.
"I was worried as my younger brother, who was not very experienced with the outside world, was chosen for the resettlement," said refugee Hari Dhakal. "But now he tells me over the telephone that he already has a mobile phone and computer facilities, and we are hopeful of a good life out there."
An IOM official also claimed that the resettlement process is becoming easier due to the positive messages from those already resettled abroad.
More than 108,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven camps in Jhapa and Morang districts since 1992 after the Druk regime launched its ethnic cleansing.
Friday, July 18, 2008
One arrested for counterfeiting non-Bhutanese under TCR
Source: Apfanews.com
Nepal police at Kakarvitta arrested Nabin Paudel (name changed), 30, of Beldangi-II who was involved in luring Nepali citizens for third country resettlement in America two weeks back.
According to sources at security, five Nepali citizens from Pokhara and Solukhumbu have filed a case against Paudel for tugging 18, 00,000 Nepalese currencies.
Paudel, who was shifted to Hanuman Dhoka Kathmandu last week for further investigation confirmed Bhutan News Service that he has taken at least 3, 50,000 Nepalese currencies from them in different transactions within three months. However, he denied that the money was transferred into his account not for luring them into resettlement process but for business purpose.
"The have claimed many times more than the real transaction", cried Paudel. "I got heavy physical torture during interrogation" lamented he.
An ICRC certified victim of torture in Bhutan, Paudel showing his ICRC-btn-245 number urged for his safety in police custody.
"I make humble appeal to ICRC and UNHCR, through Bhutan News Service, that I should not be inhumanly tortured" he cried.
According to Paudel, he spent five years rigorous jail term inside Bhutan's jail before he moved to Nepal. He has wife and two children.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Going home or abroad: question for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal
Source: Xinhua
By Phanindra Dahal
Thirty-eight-year-old Krishna Prasad Sharma, who has been living in Nepalas a Bhutanese refugee since 1991, is excited that his family will soon find a new home in a developed country under a resettlement program.
But his old father Ram Prasad Sharma is not.
Sharma's family, living in makeshift huts at Goldhap refugee camp, some 320 km east of Nepali capital Kathmandu, is one among more than 7,800 Bhutanese refugees families residing in seven different camps of Jhapa and Morang districts in eastern Nepal.
Some 105,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal for the last 17 years. Bilateral talks between Nepal and Bhutan -- 15 rounds of them -- failed to yield any results so far.
Since the beginning of this year, the third-country resettlement of the refugees in north America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand has started.
"My life in the refugee camp is like a hell. I have no job and earnings," said Krishna, whose application for third country resettlement is in process.
"We waited for so many years but Bhutan is not ready to accept us. I don't want my children to suffer like us," said the father of two sons.
The refugees entered Nepal via bordering towns of India during late 1980s and early 1990s after Bhutanese government carried out ethnic cleansing against people of Nepali origin.
For the last 17 years, the Bhutanese refugees have been living in Nepal with the support from United Nations food and shelter program.
The Nepal-Bhutan talks began in 2003 and in 2007 the Nepali government gave the green light for the refugees to resettle abroad.
Krishna Sharma said he planned to work and strive for a good living for his wife and children in a foreign land.
"I will work hard and educate my two kids so that they can live a happy life," he added.
According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal, seven western governments -- the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Denmark -- have offered to resettle nearly 90 thousand refugees.
The United States said it was ready to pick up 60,000 initially, followed by as many as wishing, in the next five years.
"Until mid-June, 37,988 refugees have applied for resettlement and 1,186 have been resettled," UNHCR Nepal's external assistant Nini Gurung told Xinuha days ago.
"We would be sending more and more refugees in coming months," she added.
But Bhutanese refugee resettlement program has brought a big division among the refugees living inside the bamboo-and-mud-made huts.
Krishna's 70-year-old father Ram Prasad Sharma is against the resettlement program.
"My forefathers lived there. I have a house and land in Bhutan," he said, "How can I leave my properties and friends and go to foreign countries?"
"I want to die on the land of Bhutan, I will not follow the footprints of my son and go abroad," he added.
"All the energetic people inside the camps are preparing for resettlement. If they go, who will take care of us and run the movement for repatriation," he said sadly.
The refugees organized a "long march" to go back to Bhutan via India in March last year but Indian security forces at Indo-Nepal border stopped them. One refugee died and many were injured in the clash.
Last year after Nepali government decided to allow refugees to resettle, violence erupted inside camps. Two refugees died in the clash between groups supporting and opposing resettlement program.
Most of the Bhutanese Refugees who do not want to be resettled hope that Bhutan will be compelled to take them back if strong international pressure is put against it.
"To transport refugees from one country to another is not a durable solution," S.B. Subba, the chairman of Human Rights Association of Bhutan (HUROB), an organization in exile said, adding that the international community should give more priority to repatriation than resettlement.
"The aid agencies and international community have given more focus on resettlement of refugees. But Bhutan is the ultimate destiny for refugees and solution of this problem," He said.
Some groups have even started to target against resettlement program.
On June 30, three bombs exploded inside the office of International Organization of Migration (IOM) situated at Damak city in Jhapa district. It was near the refugee camps.
But till now, Bhutan, which entered a new democracy after the historic election in this May, has shown no signs of accepting the refugees as its legitimate citizens.
In the Goldhap camp, while father Ram is waiting for the time when he can return to his homeland, his son Krishna is desperately longing for the ticket abroad.
Monday, June 16, 2008
IOM sends non-Bhutanese under resettlement to US
Source: Apfanews.com
Amidst reports that non Bhutanese are being processed for third country resettlement identifying themselves as Bhutanese, Bhutan News Service (BNS) has identified a case of that kind.
A non Bhutanese has been sent to US after completing resettlement process at the International Organization of Migration (IOM) in the name of Padam Lal Poudel, 52, from Beldangi II, Sector D/2 Hut No 24.
"Other families processing together have already left but we are still waiting for the DHS interview", said son of the victim who went to IOM, Damak office to know the reasons of delay Monday morning.
"The inquiry section of IOM confirmed that someone matching my father's information already got resettled in the US", he told BNS.
"I was just returned from the reception without letting to talk to senior officials" said he adding two persons at the reception in just said, "It is not only yours, there are several such cases''.
According to Poudel's son, his family has already got two special numbers assigned by IOM, and there are five members under his father's group. In April, IOM split his family into three groups for easy processing.
An IOM staff at Damak told BNS that no information through telephone is entertained to any media. She said, "Sorry I cannot help you", and added "Better talk to Kathmandu office".
When BNS contacted IOM office in Kathmandu, they simply directed to contact the US embassy for verification. However, the US Refugee Coordinator was out of reach, when BNS attempted to seek clarification.
On repeated calls to IOM Kathmandu office, one of the officials said "Media matters related to IOM are to be discussed with either United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the US embassy in Kathmandu".
UNHCR office in Kathmandu also denied providing information on status of the person being resettled as Bhutanese in US, citing reason of protection according to its policy.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Finding a new life in alien land
Source: Nepalnews.com
By Indra Adhikari
On the day Bhutan goes to historic polls to transform its absolute monarchy into a constitutional one, a group of Bhutanese refugees taking asylum in Nepal for the last 18 years nervously waits to set out for third country resettlement.
In Bhutan, it is the beginning of a new system, and for refugees here it is the beginning of new life in new countries.
On March 24, International Organization of Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced in Kathmandu that they had formally began taking Bhutanese refugees to third countries for resettlement as per their wish.
UNHCR country representative for Nepal Daisy Dale said despite the beginning of the third country resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees, the international community and the UNHCR will continue to advocate for the right of the refugees to repatriate to their homeland once the situation becomes conducive.
"Repatriation is the first priority," she said adding, "Failing to see any progress in repatriation process, resettlement has become a rescue for finding solution of the protracted crisis."
While some of the refugees complained that they were warned not to make any inquiry regarding their education, as they leave it in the middle of the session, UNHCR chief in Nepal said arrangements will be made for education of the refugee children.
Out of seven members in the core group expressing their interest to resettle the refugees, only two countries - United States and New Zealand - have began taking the refugees. Australia is expected to begin the process sometime soon.
Editor of Kathmandu based Bhutan News Service T. P. Mishra said majority of the refugees are complaining of unclear process of selecting refugee families for interviews.
Former country representative of the UNHCR Abraham Abraham had said refugees will be called for interviews on first come first serve basis according to the date they file their interest papers to the UNHCR. However, Mishra said it has not been so and that the refugees have not been able to make an informed choice on resettlement.
IOM chief in Kathmandu David Derthick, however, says that it is the UNHCR that decides who will be going to which country.
US government officials while visiting refugee camps last year had hinted that 60,000, the number of refugees they want to take for resettlement, would not include those who are involved in "armed groups". Yet, the government has not spoken anything about those having records of human rights violations. Accordingly, Hari Bangale, then secretary of Belgandi camp-2, because of who two refugees lost their life last year in Beldangi camp, was the first to be flown to US under resettlement.
Some 100 refugees have already left Nepal in the last three months. Media persons and other visitors were strictly barred from meeting those refugees on grounds of security and protection policies.
This week another 120 refugees will fly for third country resettlement. IOM plans to send at least 1,500 individuals in a month. By the end of 2009, half of the total population proposed by the US will find their shelters in the new countries.
While it's been widely accepted that resettlement would not give permanent solution to the crisis, the relocation of refugees is believed to give relief to UNHCR and Nepal being burdened for the last two decades.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sixty more refugees flown to Kathmandu for third country resettlement
Source: Nepalnews.com
Sixty more Bhutanese refugees have been flown from Beldangi and Shanishchare camps in Jhapa and Morang districts, respectively, to Kathmandu on their way for the third country resettlement.
The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) flew them to Kathmandu on Friday.
The refugees flown to Kathmandu are expected to be shortly resettled to the United States and Denmark.
The Nepal Samacharpatra daily quotes Jhapa's assistant chief district officer Laxman Hamal as saying that on Saturday additional 61 refugees will be flown to Kathmandu for the same purpose.
A few weeks ago, the first lot of twenty families of refugees had been flown to the US and New Zealand.
As the Bhutanese refugee imbroglio has dragged on for over one and a half decade, the international community has decided to resettle them on humanitarian grounds.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Resettlement Will Help in Repatriation: IOM Official
Source: TheHimalayanTimes.com
A high-ranking official of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said that the resettlement of Bhutanese refugees to the United States will also pave the way for their repatriation to Bhutan.
"The resettlement of Bhutanese refugees to the United States of America will open all doors of repatriation to their homeland", David Derthick, manager at the Damak-based office of the IOM, said on Wednesday.
"Resettlement is not good for all, but it has become imminent for some," Derthick said, adding that the process of resettlement was initiated after the Bhutanese refugee issue persisted for a long time. He said, "All refugees are free to choose the option of resettlement and no one is under pressure."
Derthick claimed that the Bhutanese refugees will be in a better position to launch pressure from the United States of America for repatriation to homeland than what they could do from Nepal. "Once they resettle in the US, the new generation will have the opportunity for best education. They can create international pressure and Bhutan will have no choice but to accept its citizens back." He said that Bhutan, after driving its citizens away from home, has not won the game, but found itself in an awkward position.
Derthick said, "Bhutan has lost its important and good citizens."
He said that the number of Bhutanese refugees that will be taken to the US for resettlement cannot be confirmed at this time. Saying that the resettlement process will help the new generation especially, he said that repatriation to Bhutan after resettlement in the US cannot be ruled out.
"There are many instances in which many refugees have returned to their homeland after resettlement in third countries."
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has recommended a name list of 3,000 Bhutanese refugees to the IOM for resettlement in the US, he said, adding the process of interviewing them has begun. "It's up to us to decide who will go to which country. It is under jurisdiction of the UNHCR or the host country," Derthick said. "However, certain criteria are there for selection. We will handle them."
Refuting rumours that the IOM was intimidated; he said that the security situation at the camps is excellent. "The cooperation we received from the Nepal government is excellent." He said that the refugees in Nepal were treated in a better way than their counterparts in Africa and other nations. The people here have also cooperated a lot, he said.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
IOM Begins Interviewing Bhutanese Refugees
Source: TheHimalayanTimes.com
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) began interviewing the Bhutanese refugees opting for third country resettlement in the US in Damak on Tuesday.
Three high-ranking officials of the Department of US Homeland Security -- William Lowe, Keirn Van and David Radel -- began interviewing the refugees on their intention and opinion on resettlement, said Laxmankumar Hamal, assistant Chief District Officer and joint director of the Refugee Coordination Unit under the Home Ministry. He said the team will be in Damak till December 13.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has already submitted the applications of refugees having security concerns to the IOM.
It is said that interview in Morang's Shanischare and Damak's Beldangi camp has been completed in the first phase. However, the number of interviewees has not been revealed.
Jas Bahadur Subba, a refugee living in the Shanischare camp, said all the members of his family have been interviewed. Another refugee Homnath Baral said that he has been called for a health check up along with all family members by December.
The UNHCR has been continuing to inquiry about the refugees who have opted for third country resettlement. It is said said that 50,000 refugees of 10,000 families have applied for third country resettlement; the IOM has not disclosed the number of applications it has received.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Let Individual Refugees Decide
Source: Rising Nepal
T. P. Mishra
Of late, the offer of third country resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees has been gaining momentum, shadowing other options viz repatriation and local assimilation. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Nepal and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the resettlement option has been opened.
Solution
Hot debates have already begun as to whether third country resettlement is a lasting solution to the long-standing Bhutanese refugee crisis. The fact that resettlement can only be a step towards a durable solution and not a permanent outlet in itself to the Bhutanese political problem cannot be denied.
The increasing violence inside the UNHCR-sponsored cantonments in Nepal since the last few months, particularly concerning the resettlement offer, clearly hints that the authorities concerned should work towards creating a favourable and intrepid atmosphere so that individual refugees can decide their future.
Refugees have had long experience with politics inside and outside the host country. Thus, there is divided opinion among the refugees. Considering all these factors, individual refugees must be given a chance to decide on the options available - repatriation, resettlement or local assimilation.
More interestingly, the refugees' divergent opinions have only baffled the concerned bodies. Each of the organisations or political parties formed inside the camps to work for a solution to the crisis has always strived to manipulate the people in their own way. Be it the Tek Nath Rizal-led Bhutanese Movement Steering Committee or Hari Bangaley-led Bhutanese Refugee Durable Solution Co-ordinating Committee (BRDSCC), they have their own stance on resolving the crisis.
On the other side, the Communist Party of Bhutan (CPB-MLM) has recently warned the concerned authorities not to begin the process of third country resettlement. Organising a press conference at an unknown place, Binod, a member of the CPB-MLM's Co-ordinating Committee in Exile, had warned that they would come up with protest programmes and also take physical action if the UNHCR begins the resettlement process by using organisations from within the Bhutanese community.
Manipulation and internal intimidation by the Bhutanese organisations themselves pose a challenge to security in the camps. No matter how the situation proceeds, a favourable atmosphere should be created for individual refugees to decide their fate. Unlocking a single option - whether repatriation, resettlement or local assimilation - cannot deliver a suitable outlet as there is divided opinion among the refugees.
In the name of establishing democracy in Bhutan, a few political parties as well as dozens of other apolitical organisations have come into existence. But most of these organisations that claim to be working for the welfare of the Bhutanese people are making zero progress especially in the context of fighting for democracy in Bhutan.
The political and apolitical organisations formed in exile do only paperwork. The question of a unified ideology towards finding a solution to the refugee stalemate is a farce. And these days it is growing even harder. There visibly exists three groups - one favouring repatriation through peaceful means, the other preferring a revolt to establish democracy in the country, and another favouring third country resettlement. The possibility of bringing all these groups to a common point, however, is difficult. All this is leading the people to more confusion.
The offer of third country resettlement itself may not be a bad option, but it cannot be a solution to the Bhutanese political problem. The Bhutanese people's struggle towards democracy should continue under any circumstances and regardless of wherever they resettle or assimilate.
Actually, the refugees are fed up with the activities of some of their leaders. The ideological differences within these groups have, in fact, left the general people in a quandary. This difference has created havoc inside the Bhutanese refugee camps. Thus, this trend should not be allowed to continue to ensure that individuals have the right to decide their future on their own without manipulation and intimidation by a third party.
Sentiments
Meanwhile, all the political and apolitical organisations in exile must work to create an environment of consensus. They must understand the sentiments of the general people in the camps. The refugees shouldn't be forced to adopt any of the options available on the table. The concerned authorities should provide adequate and reliable information on the options available so that the people are well informed to take informed decisions.
(Mishra is Editor of Bhutan News Service)
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Let refugees decide
Source: Kathandu Post,2007-9-10
Finally, the international organization of migration (IOM) has established its office in Damak, Jhapa to resettle the Bhutanese refugees in some third countries and side by side some unwanted and unnecessary elements are hatching conspiracy to foil this humanitarian project. It is natural to hear mixed opinions but it is shocking to learn that our own “leaders” are busy creating chaos inside the camps.
We all know that it is not a matter of pride to fly to America and at the same time it is not good and wise to stay long in the camps under sub-human conditions. The “leaders” hardly know the pain and sorrow that the refugees are facing today. And this is not the time to listen to them, rather it is time to speak clearly and find a safe way out of the hellish refugee camps.
Let us give chance to the refugees to speak what they want today, rather than forcing them to walk in our leaders' footsteps. Hope the situation improves soon in the refugee camps after the establishment of security posts, which would encourage the panic-stricken refugees to express their feelings.
We know what Thimpu is cooking these days and we will not digest what the Druk kingdom prepares. We hope we will get a new life in the third country.
Khem Regmi
Pathri Regugee Camp, Morang
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
IOM to help resettle Bhutanese refugees
Source: TheHimalayanTimes.com
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, September 4:
The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal to open an office in Kathmandu and implement migration programmes here.
The agreement signed last Thursday will allow IOM to begin to process for resettlement of Bhutanese refugees, currently living in camps in the east of the country, in the USA.
In May 2007, the US government selected IOM to act as its Overseas Processing Entity (OPE) for resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees.
While hopes remain that some of the refugees may eventually be able to return to Bhutan, as many as 60,000 of the refugees referred by UNHCR are expected to opt for resettlement in the USA.
“IOM will help the US government select case files of refugees for resettlement, provide medical screening and cultural orientation, and organise the complex logistics of moving the refugees from camps to the USA,” David Derthick at IOM Kathmandu told this daily.
The MoU will now allow IOM to work in Nepal in the areas of labour migration, capacity building, advisory services, migration health, international migration law, counter trafficking, return of qualified nationals, assisted return from third countries, and emergency and post-crisis interventions.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
UNHCR Concerned About Security Scene in Refugee Camps
Source: The Himalayan Times
Ishwar Khanal
Kathmandu, August 26
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the US have expressed concern over the security situation in the Bhutanese refugee camps, which has affected their preparations for resettlement process of the refugees.
UNHCR has been administering the refugee camps and the US is a member of the core group to announce absorbing 60,000 Bhutanese refugees.
The UN agency is ready to start identifying and referring cases to third countries for resettlement, but the process has not started because the UNHCR has said it wants continued political, logistic support and security measures from the Nepal government to initiate it.
The UNHCR feels the need for the government to announce its policy on third country resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees in the camps.
UNHCR Representative in Nepal, in an email response to queries forwarded by this daily, Abraham Abraham said that they are "deeply concerned" over increasing incidents of violence, threats and intimidation in the refugee camps.
Similar views came from a US official working on Bhutanese refugee affairs. "Security is the main problem to begin resettlement process," the official told this daily insisting anonymity.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as the Overseas Processing Entity (OPE) is yet to establish its office in Damak of Jhapa. It will start operating as soon the agreement is signed with Nepal soon.
Prior to beginning the process, the UNHCR would organise a mass information campaign to update all stakeholders about the process and inform the refugees about resettlement and all three durable solutions to enable them to make an informed choice about dealing with their future, Abraham said.
He also stated that the UN agency is confident that Nepal government has prioritised the refugee issue and is working to find out a permanent solution of the protracted problem.
The UN refugee agency, however, feels that the government has started stepping up security to prevent the outbreak of more incidents.
"We fully recognise and respect the many difficult political and security issues the government has to deal with, but we are confident that the refugee issue is high on the agenda of the government, and this is vital in finding permanent solutions for the refugees," he concluded.
