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SUBSCRIBE The leading Copyright |
Query: Applicant is ethnic Nepalese, born in Bhutan. Applicant states the
census laws in Bhutan changed and all non-Bhutanese nationals were
stripped of their Bhutanese citizenship. Applicant states he left
Bhutan in 1992 and went to India until 1994. Applicant claims he then
traveled to Nepal and stayed until entering the U.S. with a refugee
travel document issued by the Government of Nepal. Applicant claims to
have had no legal status in Nepal or India. Applicant claims that
Bhutanese exiles in Nepal are sometimes given travel documents, for
instance, to attend international conferences on human rights. Response: BACKGROUND According to the U.S. Department of State, The rapid growth of [the] ethnic Nepalese segment of the population
[in Bhutan] led the Buddhist majority to fear for the survival of their
culture. Government efforts to tighten citizenship requirements and
control illegal immigration resulted in political protests and led to
ethnic conflict and repression of ethnic Nepalese in southern districts
during the late 1980's and early 1990's. Tens of thousands of ethnic
Nepalese left Bhutan in 1991-92, many forcibly expelled…. The
Government [of Bhutan] maintains that some of those in the camps were
never residents of Bhutan, therefore, have no right to return (Feb.
1998). The U.S. Committee for Refugees reports that there are about 110,000
Bhutanese living in Nepal. Most of them live in six UNHCR-assisted
camps in the eastern part of the country, are recognized as refugees by
the UNHCR, and receive UNHCR assistance, but according to the
Government of Nepal, there are about 1,400 registered refugees and
about 10,000-25,000 Bhutanese not registered as refugees living outside
the camps. The camps are largely refugee-run and are officially closed,
though refugees generally move in and out of them freely. Bhutanese
refugees in Nepal are considered to be in the country only temporarily
(although repatriation is not on-going), and officially they are not
allowed to work (USCR 2000, 168). Bhutanese living in Nepal who are not
registered as refugees “have whatever other status foreigners may have
in Nepal such as tourist, long term resident or illegal alien” (UNHCR 1
May 2001). There are approximately 15,000 ethnic Nepalese from Bhutan living in
West Bengal and Assam states in India. Under the Indo-Bhutanese
friendship treaty of 1950 they are allowed to work and live freely in
India without the requirement of staying in refugee camps, yet they
receive no government assistance (USCR 2000, 165, 168). Although many Bhutanese in Nepal have demanded permission to
repatriate, for the most part their efforts to return to Bhutan have
failed. In 1996, Bhutanese refugees began demanding that they be allowed to
repatriate. Since, the Appeal Movement Coordination Council has held
yearly protests and marches in which hundreds of refugees have
attempted—usually unsuccessfully—to return to Bhutan through India.
During 1999, the Movement held several such protests, all of which
ended in the refugees being pushed back either by the Indian or
Bhutanese authorities (USCR 2000, 168). In talks between Bhutan and Nepal on the future of the refugees in
Nepal (held for the first time in three years in September 1999), Nepal
emphasized “the economic, political, and environmental strain” the
presence of the Bhutanese refugees poses for Nepal, but the Bhutanese,
“who did not want the refugees back,” made few concessions (USCR 2000,
168). Thus, the talks yielded little progress on the issue (USCR 2000,
168). REFUGEE TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL In a telephone interview, an official at the Royal Embassy of Nepal
stated that the Government of Nepal does not issue travel documents to
persons who do not have refugee status in Nepal (2 May 2001). Travel documents are indeed issued to those Bhutanese in Nepal who
are registered refugees (just as they are issued to Tibetan refugees,
the only other large refugee group in Nepal) (Royal Embassy of Nepal 2
May 2001). The process for obtaining Refugee Travel Documents from the
Nepalese government is explained as follows by a UNHCR representative
in Nepal. The representative indicated that this process can be time-consuming but that most requests for travel documents are granted (1
May 2001). [A] Bhutanese registered refugee [who] needs a Travel Document…has
to provide to the governmental Refugee Coordination Unit (RCU) Office
in Badrapur, Jhapa District [Nepal], a clear explanation as to why
he/she needs such a Travel Document. If the reason is deemed valid,
then the RCU will forward the request and its own recommendation to the
governmental National Unit for the Coordination of Refugee Affairs
(NUCRA) at the Ministry of Home in Kathmandu. NUCRA then processes the
request internally and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which
ultimately delivers the Travel Document… [R]easons considered as valid
by the RCU authorities to deliver Travel Documents are studies, family
reunification, medical needs and attending conferences abroad (1 May
2001). Refugee travel documents issued by the Government of Nepal confer no
rights to the document holders except for foreign travel (DIRB, 27 May
1999). This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible
information currently available to the RIC within time constraints.
This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the
merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. References: Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Ottawa. 27
May 1999. RESPONSE TO INFORMATION REQUEST NPL31928.E. Royal Embassy of Nepal, Washington, D.C. 2 May 2001. Telephone
interview with official. UNHCR, Katmandu, Nepal. 1 May 2001. Email sent to the Resource
Information Center. US Committee for Refugees (USCR). 2000. “India.” WORLD REFUGEE
SURVEY. Washington, D.C.: Immigration & Refugee Services of America.
US Committee for Refugees (USCR). 2000. “Nepal.” WORLD REFUGEE
SURVEY. Washington, D.C.: Immigration & Refugee Services of America.
US Department of State (USDOS). February 1998. “Bhutan.” COUNTRY
REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1997. [Internet] URL :
http://www.state.gov/www/global/humanrights/1997hrpreport/bhutan.html
[Accessed on 25 April 2001]. |
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