Nepal’s remaining Bhutanese refugees seek legal recognition

Local authorities have counted 6,365 such people, who have neither been able to return to Bhutan nor gained the rights enjoyed by ordinary residents of Nepal, where many were born and raised. Without government-recognised identity documents, they face obstacles to formal employment, opening bank accounts, registering businesses, pursuing higher education, and obtaining professional licences.

A recent report by Peace Initiative Bhutan (PIB), based on field visits and consultations in Beldangi in Jhapa and Pathari in Morang, has highlighted the uncertainty facing the remaining community. The delegation consulted more than 500 refugees and stakeholders.

“Having taken shelter in Nepal as refugees, they now have neither their previous status nor a new legal identity,” said Kumar Gurung, a representative of PIB in the United States. “The camps where they have lived have turned into settlements.