08 November 2007

Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal

The plight of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal may soon be resolved. UNHCR announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached to resettle as many as 60,000 Bhutanese refugees to the United States. Over 100,000 refugees have been living in camps in eastern Nepal for an extended period of time, some for as long as 17 years. Those who wish to leave and who are accepted for resettlement may be slated to travel beginning in January 2008.

Some background on this protracted refugee situation is provided in the following resources:

"Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal," State of the World's Refugees 2006 (UNHCR) [text]

Last Hope: The Need for Durable Solutions for Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal and India (Human Rights Watch, May 2007) [text]

Nepal: Time for Bhutanese Refugees to Choose Their Future Path (Refugees International, Oct. 2007) [text]

"Unending Limbo: Warehousing Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal," World Refugee Survey 2004 (U.S. Committee for Refugees) [text]

Posted in Publications.

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