Over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees who fled their country two decades ago claiming persecution by then government and forced to live in camps in eastern Nepal have been resettled in western countries, primarily in the US.
The refugees have been residing in the camps since the early 1990s.
The Nepali-speaking refugees were forced to leave their homeland due to the ethnic cleansing policy pursued by the Druk government of Bhutan at that time.
After 16 rounds of ministerial-level talks between Nepal and Bhutan on repatriation failed, international agencies such as the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration have offered resettlement as a permanent solution.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration yesterday marked the resettlement of more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees from Nepal since the programme was launched in 2007.
The United States received nearly 85,000 refugees and the remaining 15,000 refugees have been received by seven other countries including Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand and United Kingdom.
Devi Maya Thapa, 53, the 100,000th refugee to be resettled within the next few days said: "I am leaving the refugee camp forever after spending more than two decades in Nepal."
"I am happy that our family will be together in our new country and my children will have a better future," Thapa said.
Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who was the chief guest at the function said he was very happy at the resettlement of over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees in different countries.
Addressing the function organised in Kathmandu by UNHCR Nepal, Oli expressed gratitude to those supporting the endeavour and congratulated the refugees on their new life.
Oli said Nepal had accepted Bhutanese Refugees two-and-half decades ago on humanitarian grounds, though Nepal is not the immediate neighbour of Bhutan, from where the refugees originated.
Eight years ago before the resettlement process began, 108,000 refugees from Bhutan were living in the seven camps in Jhapa and Morang districts.
A core group of eight countries came together in 2007 to create this opportunity for the refugees. Australia is home to the second-largest number of Bhutanese refugees after the US.
It received 5,554, refugees followed by Canada with 6,500, refugees. Other refugee receiving countries include New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, the UK, and the Netherlands.
This is one of the largest and most successful programme of its kind and the resettlement of nearly nine out of 10 Bhutanese refugees is an extraordinary achievement, said UNHCR Representative in Nepal Craig Sanders.
There are some 10,000 to 12,000 refugees waiting to be resettled in different countries in Jhapa, an eastern Nepal district.
