Group resettlement for refugees living in camps started in March. Some 8,000 of the 60,000 people who expressed an interest in resettlement departed for third countries in 2008.
In September, the Government of Nepal and UNHCR completed the registration of some 1,000 people who had not been counted at the last census and dependants of recognized refugees.
In December, the authorities completed the distribution of photo identity cards to all registered refugees above 16 years of age.
UNHCR assisted some 600 Tibetans transiting through Nepal to India.
In Kathmandu, the Office protected and assisted some 300 refugees and asylum-seekers, including through assessment of their claims. Twenty-four vulnerable refugees were resettled in third countries after paying substantial fines for overstaying their visas.
In April, UNHCR officially discontinued its direct involvement with the remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nepal. However, it continues to advocate for effective implementation of the 2007 National IDP Policy.
The year 2008 was marked by a number of significant political developments in Nepal. The former Maoist rebels’ party won a relative majority in April elections for the Constituent Assembly and formed a coalition Government. The new Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic and abolished the country’s 240-year-old monarchy.
However, prospects of stability are still far from clear, for reasons including tensions within and between political parties; the failure to ensure the full and equal participation in politics of all groups; difficulties in the integration of former rebel combatants into the Nepal Army; and the de facto control by separatist and other armed groups of large parts of the Terai region bordering India.
In the refugee camps in eastern Nepal, violence by anti-resettlement groups reached its peak in early 2008, when violent attacks on processing centres and buses carrying refugees were carried out in an attempt to derail the resettlement process. Strong condemnation by the Government of Nepal, resettlement countries and UNHCR, followed by an increase in the presence of security forces in the camps, enabled resettlement activities to continue without further incident. In March, a devastating fire destroyed almost all the huts and communal buildings in Goldhap camp. More than a dozen people were injured, but there was no loss of life. The camp was rebuilt through emergency response measures and normal life was re-established by July
#Refugees #AsylumSeekers #UNHCR
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Publisher:
UNHCR
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(2009
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Type / Script:
Annual Report
in English
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Keywords:
REFUGEES, MIGRANTS, BHUTANESE, BHUTAN, MYANMAR REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS, DISPLACED PERSONS, REFUGEE ASSISTANCE, REFUGEE CAMPS, REFUGEE LAW, REFUGEE PLACEMENT, REFUGEE PROTECTION, REFUGEE STATUS, REFUGEE-RECEIVING COUNTRIES, RESETTLEMENT POLICY
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Thematic Group:
UNHCR
:
Refugees and Migration
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Thesaurus:
01.00.0A
- Political And Legal Questions
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Reference Link:
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