(New York, May 13, 2003) Upcoming talks between Bhutan and Nepal may break a decade-long impasse on the return of Bhutanese refugees, but refugees' rights are still at risk, Human Rights Watch said today.
In a new 22-page briefing paper, Human Rights Watch urged Bhutan and Nepal to implement a screening and repatriation process that protects the human rights of more than one hundred thousand refugees of Nepalese ethnicity who were arbitrarily stripped of their citizenship and forced to flee Bhutan in the early 1990s.The refugees have been living in overcrowded camps in southeastern Nepal for over a decade. Bhutan and Nepal will begin their fourteenth round of bilateral talks to resolve the refugee situation on May 19, 2003. Observers fear that the talks may reach a resolution that repatriates only a portion of the refugees, or repatriates refugees into unsafe conditions.
"Bhutan should allow the refugees to return home and to regain full citizenship," said Alison Parker, a refugee policy expert at Human Rights Watch. "But international monitoring is also needed to ensure that the refugees can return in safety."
Although the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has jointly administered the refugee camps with the Nepalese government, it has not been invited to participate in the talks, or to monitor and facilitate the return process.
During the talks, Bhutan and Nepal are expected to announce the results of a verification and categorization process conducted in one of the refugee camps. The process started two years ago; repatriation may begin within weeks of the announcement. Human Rights Watch is concerned that some categories of refugees will not be allowed to return to their regions of origin and will confront other forms of discrimination.
In recent interviews with ethnic Nepalese currently living in Bhutan, Human Rights Watch documented continuing abuses of their rights to a nationality, education, employment, freedom to practice one's culture, and freedom of religion. The Human Rights Watch briefing paper is based on more than 180 interviews with refugees and officials in March and April 2003.
In the May 19 round of meetings, Human Rights Watch called on Bhutan and Nepal to:
- Promote a transparent, fair, and efficient verification process by announcing the results from the first camp, explaining the criteria used for categorization of the refugees, and issuing a timeline for the verification process in the remaining six camps;
- Ensure voluntary repatriation in conditions of safety and dignity by inviting UNHCR to help monitor and facilitate the process. Bhutan should allow returning refugees to return to their region of origin and to apply for full citizenship; and
- Find durable solutions for refugees unwilling or unable to return to Bhutan.
Human Rights Watch also urged Bhutan, which is currently drafting a new constitution, to reform its citizenship laws. The current laws make acquiring citizenship extremely difficult and still contain provisions for arbitrary denationalization.
Many refugees expressed their deep desire to go home along with fear about conditions of return. Phul Maya C., a 55-year-old refugee woman leader whose real name has been withheld, said:
"We are happy about going home to Bhutan. At the same time we fear the regime. There must be international protection. We are like a football, kicked from Bhutan to Nepal and then from Nepal to Bhutan. The government of Bhutan may be angry at us. Maybe they'll take revenge. We don't want to flee again, to become nomads like this."
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Background Briefing, May 13, 2003