US Asst Secy to visit Nepal to gear up resettlement of Bhutanese refugees
US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey is arriving in Nepal on October 29 as part of her 12-day long visit to Nepal, Bhutan and India, making fresh effort for resettlement of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal.
According to a refugee-run website apfanews.com, the US assistant secretary will hold meetings with refugees benefiting from US-funded programmes in the region and assess the progress and implementation of programmes that will resettle vulnerable Bhutanese refugees in the United States in the next few years.
The US government has offered, on humanitarian ground, to resettle some 60,000 Bhutanese refugees who have been taking refuge in Nepal since last 17 years.
Sauerbrey will meet United Nations and Nepal’s government officials working in projects assisting the Bhutanese refugees and will also travel to refugee camps in Jhapa to inspect the newly established resettlement processing center there.
The resettlement processing center set up in Damak is expected to be operational after Tihar festival.
After her visit to Kathmandu and Jhapa, She will travel to Bhutan and India, where she will seek assistance from Bhutanese and Indian governments in promoting durable solutions, including voluntary repatriation, for the Bhutanese refugees.
In Bhutan, the US Assistant Secretary of State will hold discussion with ministers, bureaucrats and king on keys issues of bilateral relations and the refugee issue. nepalnews.com ia Oct 27 07
