Sauerbrey visits Jhapa to assess preparation for resettlement of Bhutanese refugees

The US Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration, Ellen Sauerbrey, who is currently on her 12-day visit to Nepal, Bhutan and India, visited Jhapa district on Thursday.

During her visit, she held meetings with security officers and chief district officer of Jhapa to assess arrangement made for security in the Bhutanese refugee camps before the third country settlement of the refugees could begin.

She also visited the resettlement processing center in Damak where the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), chosen as Overseas Processing Entity (OPE) by the US government to facilitate the settlement of Bhutanese refugee, will be selecting the refugees for resettlement. She is scheduled to visit the refugee camps as well.

She said the resettlement would begin after her return to US. The US government plans to begin the resettlement process by early next year.

The US has expressed its willingness to resettle at least 60,000 Bhutanese refugees in America over the next few years.

After Nepal she will travel to India and Bhutan to talk with Bhutanese and Indian governments, seeking their support for the resettlement process. nepalnews.com ia Nov 01 07

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