Nepal has obligation not to deport Tibetan refugees, Says UN[Wednesday, 8 September 2010, 11:11 am]
Dharamshala:
An official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) in Kathmandu said the UN agency and Nepali government should
facilitate the safe transit of Tibetan refugees to India owing to the
latter’s international obligation under the Gentlemen’s Agreement.In
an interview with The Kathmandu Post, Stéphane Jaquemet, the country
representative of UNHCR in Kathmandu spoke about the issue of Tibetan
refugees and the agency’s future in Nepal.Responding to
questions on Nepal’s tough line on new Tibetan arrivals from Tibet and
the UN agency’s concerns, Mr Jaquemet said both the UNHCR and Nepali
government had committed to the Gentlemen’s Agreement established in
early 1990s to facilitate the safe transit of Tibetan new arrivals to
India. Elaborating on the Gentlemen’s Agreement, Mr Jaquemet
said: “Like any other country in the world, Nepal has an obligation not
to return people seeking international protection. Although Nepal is
not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is party to a number of
human rights instruments and treaties which contain the obligation of
non-return of people seeking international protection.”He
refuted an op-ed in the newspaper which stated that international
practice says that migrants can be deported. “This is not correct for
someone who seeks international protection. The latter cannot be
deported,” he said.The UN representative said “ the pre-1990s
Tibetan refugees are recognised as refugees on a prima facie basis by
the Nepali government and they are entitled to Refugee Cards attesting
to their right to reside in Nepal.“In practice, however, the
issuance/renewal of such documents has been inconsistent. Accordingly,
UNHCR has advocated to the government for the issuance of documentation
to all persons of concern in the long staying population of Tibetans in
Nepal, he added.
