KATHMANDU, Nepal– As many as 86,067 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled in different third countries so far after the resettlement programme started six years ago.
Officials at the Ministry said the Bhutanese refugees residing in different camps in Jhapa and Morang districts in eastern Nepal were resettled to the United States of America (USA), Canada, and Denmark among other countries.
A source at the Ministry said attempts were underway to bring reforms in immigration system and improve the capacity of various refugees camps in Beldangi, Jhumka, Bhimphedi and Nakkhu.
With the resettlement programme started six years ago, the UN refugee agency has been interviewing refugees and referring them to resettlement countries for consideration.
When the refugees are accepted by resettlement countries, International Organization for Migration (IOM) carries out health assessments, apart from holding cultural orientation courses and ferrying the refugees to their new homes.
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas (‘southerners’), a group of people of Nepali origin comprising of various ethnicity.
Refugees who travelled through India to eastern Nepal registered in various refugee camps during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens.