The UN refugee agency has noted some 50 Bhutanese refugees demonstrating in front of the UN House in Kathmandu since Friday, 02 June 2006, to draw the attention of the international community for an early resolution of the Bhutanese refugee issue. Another group in the thousands demonstrated at the Indo-Nepal Mechi bridge border on 02 June 2006 to press for their return to Bhutan. “This is a natural reaction from refugees who have been living in difficult camp conditions away from their homes for the last 16 years without any progress towards solutions and we understand their frustrations,” said UNHCR Representative in Nepal, Abraham Abraham. Although UNHCR has not been requested by the Government of Nepal and the Royal Government of Bhutan to participate in the bilateral process, the refugee agency has always advocated a comprehensive solution for the resolution of the problem and will continue to exercise its mandated responsibility for the protection of and assistance to all refugees until permanent solutions can be implemented. “At the same time there is no guarantee of continued assistance indefinitely since UNHCR is totally dependent on voluntary contributions on an annual basis to meet the needs of refugees worldwide,” added Abraham. “A comprehensive solution would take into account voluntary repatriation for those who opt and can return to Bhutan and other alternatives such as third country resettlement for which offers are available from the resettlement recipient countries, and such resettlement opportunities are also not open indefinitely,” said Abraham.
“We urge two Governments in the bilateral process to make speedy
arrangements for the repatriation of the refugees to Bhutan while also allowing
third country resettlement, so that solutions can be implemented for all refugees allowing the closure of camps instead of keeping helpless refugees in camps forever,” Abraham added.
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Publisher:
UNHCR
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(2006
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Type / Script:
Annual Report
in English
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Keywords:
BHUTANESE REFUGEES, REFUGEE PLACEMENT, NATIONAL LAW, ASYLUM STATUS, REINTEGRATION, BILATERAL PROCESS, DISPLACED PERSONS, RESETTLEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, RESPONSIBILITY, ASSISTANCE, PROTECTION, HUMAN RIGHTS, FRUSTRATION, ADVOCATE, RESETTLEMENT RECIPIENTS, THIRD COUNTRY RESETTLEMENT, CAMPS, KATHMANDU, STRIKE, REFUGEE AGENCY, DEMONSTRATING, INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
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Thematic Group:
UNHCR
:
Refugees and Migration
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Thesaurus:
13.01.00
- Protection Of And Assistance To Refugees And Displaced Persons
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Reference Link:
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