Nepal issues exit permit, UNHCR welcomes

Kathmandu, February 01: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has welcomed Nepal's recent decision to issue exit permits to exiled Bhutanese so they can be resettled in third countries.

The Nepalese government had decided to issue exit permit for the exiled Bhutanese willing to resettle two weeks ago.

In a statement, the UNHCR’s spokesperson William Spindler said, the move is ‘an important step towards finding solutions for over 107,000 exiled Bhutanese who have been in Nepal for 17 years’.

As the resettlement process gets momentum, first batch of the exiled Bhutanese are expected to leave Nepal early next month.

Since the process began last year, UNHCR has submitted the details of nearly 10,000 interested exiled Bhutanese for consideration by the resettlement countries.

The United States has offered to consider for resettlement at least 60,000 exiled Bhutanese, and Canada and Australia have indicated they will accept up to 5,000 each. Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway have also indicated their willingness to accept exiled Bhutanese for resettlement.

"While resettlement offers a welcome solution for those who voluntarily choose this option after 17 years in the camps, the UN refugee agency will continue to advocate for the option of voluntary return to Bhutan for those exiled Bhutanese who wish to do so," Spindler said in the statement. Bhutan News Service