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II. Recommendations

To the Government of Bhutan

Respect and protect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the ethnic Nepalis in Bhutan, without discrimination.
Amend the citizenship laws so that all Bhutanese are protected from arbitrary denationalization and statelessness. In particular, citizenship by naturalization should be an open, fair, and transparent process, that does not exclude persons with genuine ties to the country from applying and being granted citizenship simply on the basis that they have voiced criticisms of the government, or are proficient in Nepali but not in Dzongkha.
Abolish the system of No Objection Certificates and grant equal rights to all Bhutanese citizens.
Eliminate all discrimination against ethnic Nepalis on the basis of the connections to refugees in the camps in Nepal.
Ensure that all Bhutanese citizens receive new citizenship cards without discrimination, and that all adult Bhutanese citizens are allowed to register as voters for the 2008 elections.
Respect the right of return of all Bhutanese refugees by abolishing the current four-tiered categorization process and applying internationally recognized refugee-status-determination procedures.
Invite the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to establish a presence in Bhutan in order to facilitate the return and reintegration of returnees, to monitor their status, and to intervene on their behalf, if necessary.
Respect the right of all Bhutanese refugees to housing, land, and property restitution, and their right to be compensated for any housing, land, or property that cannot be restored.
Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Ratify the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

To the Government of Nepal

Cooperate with the U.S. and other resettlement countries in the resettlement of Bhutanese refugees, and respect refugees’ right to leave the country. Issue exit permits in a timely way to all refugees who wish to repatriate or who choose to accept third-country resettlement.
Continue to demand that Bhutan respect the right to return of all Bhutanese refugees. At the same time, do not make the implementation of resettlement programs dependent on progress in the bilateral talks with Bhutan.
Immediately guarantee respect for the right to freedom of movement for refugees, and authorize their right to seek employment in Nepal.
Allow Bhutanese refugees to integrate locally in Nepal. Give refugees who opt for local integration the possibility to acquire Nepalese citizenship.
Ensure that all refugees who are entitled to Nepalese citizenship under Nepal’s Citizenship Act 2006, including in particular children born to a refugee mother and a Nepalese father, receive the necessary administrative assistance to complete the formalities for acquiring citizenship.
Ratify the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and adopt implementing asylum laws and regulations.
Allow all non-registered Bhutanese asylum seekers to register their claims for refugee status in Nepal, and determine such claims on the basis of fair and transparent asylum procedures, including a right to appeal.
Continue to provide secure asylum to the Bhutanese refugees for as long as is required before they have found a durable solution.
Provide security in the Bhutanese refugee camps to enable free expression of opinions and beliefs and prosecute intimidators who threaten or harm those who exercise their rights to freedom of opinion, expression, and association.
Ratify the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

To the Government of India

Ratify the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.

Ratify the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Allow all Bhutanese refugees currently living in India to regularize their status, and give them the possibility to acquire Indian citizenship.
Offer to mediate between Bhutan and Nepal to resolve the Bhutanese refugee and statelessness crisis.
Engage actively with the Bhutanese authorities to demand that Bhutan accept the return of Bhutanese refugees under proper international monitoring and with the restoration of rights and property.
Make clear to the Bhutanese authorities that expulsions of ethnic Nepalis following the current census would be unacceptable.
Encourage Bhutan to immediately stop its policy of discrimination against its ethnic Nepali citizens.

To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Work with local authorities and the refugee leadership and population to ensure respect for the right of all refugees to freely express their opinions about all durable solutions.
Work with the government of Nepal, the resettlement countries, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to provide, as soon as possible, detailed and up-to-date information about all durable solutions to all refugees in the camps.
Ensure that the elections for the Camp Management Committees (scheduled for June 2007) are free and fair.

Ensure that the refugees to be resettled—particularly the first group—are protected from threats, intimidation, and physical attacks by opponents of resettlement.
Continue to press Nepal, Bhutan, and India to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Consider for refugee status under UNHCR’s mandate ethnic Nepalis from Bhutan in India who fled or were expelled from Bhutan for the same reasons as the Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal.
Ensure that all refugee children born in the camps have their births registered.
Continue to work with the refugees to reduce the incidence of sexual and gender-based violence in the camps.

To the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Ensure that all refugee children who are entitled to Nepalese citizenship under Nepal’s Citizenship Act 2006, including in particular children born to a refugee mother and a Nepalese father, are properly assisted to complete the formalities for acquiring citizenship.

To the United States and other resettlement countries

Work with previously resettled refugees and with NGOs to provide detailed information about the terms and conditions of the offer of resettlement to all refugees in camps using different media, including brochures, radio broadcasts, and face-to-face, question-and-answer sessions.
Emphasize to all parties that the choice of resettlement is voluntary and does not in any way extinguish the right to return.
Mobilize the international community to bring pressure to bear on Bhutan to respect the rights of all its citizens, including ethnic Nepalis, and to respect the Bhutanese refugees’ right to return to Bhutan.

To the international community, in particular the “Friends of Bhutan” group(Austria, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland) and the “core group” (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States)

Continue to provide for the needs of the Bhutanese refugees for as long as they remain in the camps in Nepal.
Put pressure on Bhutan to respect the rights of all its citizens, including ethnic Nepalis, and to fulfill its obligations on the right to return of all Bhutanese refugees.

May 2007

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