UNHCR chief Sadako Ogata has expressed optimism of
an early
resolution to a 10-year old Bhutanese refugee problem, reports
BBC
News. About 100,000 ethnic refugees from Bhutan are living in
camps
run by UNHCR in eastern Nepal. Ogata said a meeting between the
foreign ministers of Nepal and Bhutan this month could pave way
for
their repatriation.
Speaking at the end of a visit to Bhutan and Nepal,
she said verification
of the refugees is expected to start within a month of the meeting.
Ogata, who is now in India, said that her visit had helped both
countries
narrow down their differences. She said that Nepal and Bhutan
have
agreed to use the first ever UNHCR-database on the refugees as
a
reference point for joint verification.
A majority of the refugees came from Bhutan, she said,
and want to
return to their homeland. Bhutan has been saying that it will
take back
only those who are Bhutanese citizens who, according to them,
number a few thousand. But Ogata said that the Bhutanese authorities
were gradually shifting their position.
[BBC News - UN hopeful on Bhutan refugees; Xinhua -
Nepal, Bhutan
Closer to Solving Refugees Issue; The Kathmandu Post - UN refugee
official discusses camp management with home minister]
