The 50,000th Bhutanese refugee to move from Nepal under a UN resettlement scheme will begin a new life in the United States, a statement said on Wednesday. “The departure of the 50,000th Bhutanese refugee from Nepal for resettlement abroad is a noteworthy milestone,” the US Ambassador to Nepal Scott DeLisi was quoted as saying. The programme began in 2007 following the failure of years of high-level negotiations to secure their return to Bhutan. Some 42,000 refugees have gone to the United States, while Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain have also taken some in. The refugees are all ethnic Nepalese who left Bhutan in the early 1990s, claiming ethnic and political persecution after Thimphu made national dress compulsory and banned the Nepalese language. Bhutan claims the refugees were illegal immigrants. The Hindu refugees, who have no legal right to work or own land in Nepal, insist they are citizens of mainly Buddhist Bhutan. Human rights groups have said the refugees are victims of an ethnic cleansing campaign. Another 63,000 refugees remain in the camps, the UNHCR said. However, the UNHCR said it would keep seeking a solution to the refugees’ plight, “including voluntary repatriation” when conditions permit.
