Refugee Verification Updates

Habitat International Coalition conducted a Fact-Finding Mission to South Bhutan between September 23 - October 1, 2001 to verify the claims of the Bhutanese refugees that their lands have given away to northern Bhutanese settlers under the Bhutanese government’s resettlement programme. Reproduced below is the preliminary report of the Land and Housing Rights Committee of the coalition.

HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION

Housing and Land Rights Committee

Preliminary summary report of Fact Finding Mission by Habitat International Coalition

On the issue of Bhutanese refugees

The Bhutanese refugees groups for the last 3 years have been claiming that the Royal Government Of Bhutan (RGOB) has been settling people from North Bhutan on the lands of the refugees presently in camps in Nepal. The refugee groups felt this had serious implications on their return to the lands they had been evicted from in the early 1990s. They wanted an independent international organization to look into these claims and requested Habitat International Coalition to conduct a fact-finding mission for this purpose.

Habitat International Coalition undertook a fact finding mission from 23rd September to 1st October 2001 to verify the claims of the Bhutanese refugees that the Royal Government of Bhutan is settling people from North Bhutan on the lands they have been evicted from in South Bhutan. The two-member mission consisted of Mr. Minar Pimple, Social Scientist and Housing Rights expert and Ms. Seema Misra who has extensive experience with civil society work on human rights in South Asia.

The fact-finding mission interviewed 25 refugee families from the camps in Nepal. The refugees were asked to give detailed information on reasons for leaving Bhutan, how much land and housing property they had and documents to ascertain their citizenship such as citizenship cards, land tax receipts, house tax receipts, land documents, employment documents etc. which were checked in original. The refugees were asked if they knew what had happened to their property in Bhutan and how.

In addition to making a general review of the state of settlement of people from North Bhutan on the lands belonging to Bhutanese refugees, the fact-finding team selected seven refugee families (from those interviewed) and sought to verify their claims by visiting their villages in Bhutan. Families from 2 districts of Bhutan – Samchi and Sarbhang bordering India were chosen for relative security and access. Pinjuli and Chengamari villages in Samchi district and, Gelephu town, Lodarai and Lalai villages in Sarbhang were visited. All these villages were entered from the bordering Indian villages. The land of the refugees was identified either by the Nepali speaking South Bhutanese villagers who still lived there or by friends or relatives from the villages on the Indian side. These people were also interviewed to get the latest information on the situation in South Bhutan.

Preliminary findings:

- The RGOB has been settling North Bhutanese in the lands of the South Bhutanese refugees as physically seen in the cases studied.

- Not all the North Bhutanese settled in the Southern districts are landless as the RGOB is claiming. Land has been given to army and police officers and or their relatives, especially the land close to the road or the big houses as seen in the cases studied and information gathered during visit to Bhutan.

- All the refugees interviewed want to be go back to the lands from where they were evicted for regaining their land and housing rights.

- The refugees from Khudanbari camp are unhappy with the joint verification process that is underway as it excludes information on their land and housing property claims.

- The refugees would like their representatives, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to be included as parties in all the talks and the joint verification process.

- The fact-finding team met people at various levels that indicated the urgent need for the Government of India to play an active role in resolving the Bhutanese refugee crisis.

Recommendations:

1. In the interest of just and durable repatriation of Bhutanese refugees, in full consonance with international human rights and humanitarian law, it is imperative that RGOB stop settling North Bhutanese on refugee lands under its obligations as State of Origin.

2. The RGOB should be asked to provide complete data and information on the settlement it has done so far in lands and houses previously belonging to the refugees.

3. The UNHCR needs to take a further proactive role in fulfilling its mandate to work for durable repatriation and to reduce possible enhancement of statelessness.

4. The UNHCHR needs to tale a further proactive role in fulfilling its mandate to work for the restoration of the human rights of the refugees, in particular the economic, social and cultural rights in the process of repatriation.

5. The repatriation talks must give due emphasis to the process that will be necessary (including land claims, provision of civic services and so forth) in restoring the land and housing rights of the refugees upon their return to Bhutan

6. In addition to the inherent role to be played by the governments of Bhutan and Nepal, the government of India must also play an active role to facilitate the speedy return of the refugees to Bhutan.