UNHCR asks Nepal-Bhutan resume talks

Kathmandu, June 10: The United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the Nepali and Bhutanese governments to make arrangements for the repatriation of Bhutanese refugees.

The UNHCR headquarters has also emphasized on voluntary repatriation and third country resettlement. “We’re looking for lasting solutions for the millions of refugees through voluntary repatriation, local integration in countries of first asylum and resettlement to third countries,” said High Commissioner António Guterres.

“But the bad news is that the international community still has a long way to go in resolving the plight,” a UNHCR statement said today.

The UNHCR reported today that its annual global count of uprooted people rose last year to nearly 21 million, primarily because of the UNHCR’s expanding role in caring for the world’s internally displaced.

The UNHCR’s “2005 Global Refugee Trends” report says that despite a drop in refugee totals from 9.5 million in 2004 to 8.4 million last year, the overall number of concern to the agency has increased by 1.3 million — from 19.5 million to 20.8 million.

Bhutan News Service