BHUTANESE REFUGEES: UNHCR'S FAKHOURI FEARS CURRENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 002385

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/INS, PRM/ANE; LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY; NSC FOR
MILLARD; GENEVA FOR PLYNCH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2013
TAGS: PREF PREL BH NP
SUBJECT: BHUTANESE REFUGEES: UNHCR'S FAKHOURI FEARS CURRENT
BILATERAL PROCESS IS FAR OFF TRACK

Classified By: DCM Robert K. Boggs for reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary. After a two-day visit to Nepal, UNHCR
Director for Asia, Jean-Marie Fakhouri met with Ambassador
Malinowski privately to share his impressions and to discuss
UNHCR's future role in the Bhutanese refugee camps. Fakhouri
fears that Nepal-Bhutan negotiations on refugee repatriation
have led the process off track. With little information
available to them, the refugees of Khudunabari Camp are being
forced to make an "emotional, not informed, decision" on
whether to return to Bhutan. Fakhouri also is concerned that
discrimination continues to plague ethnic Nepalis inside
Bhutan, increasing the need for third-party monitoring,
particularly by UNHCR. UNHCR's leadership has decided to
phase out care and maintenance in the camps over a two-year
period, but will maintain a strong protection program.
Maoists are using the camps as rest stops and for health
services. Fakhouri will recommend upon his return to Geneva
that UNHCR issue hard-hitting statements against the current
situation. In the absence of support from European donors to
Bhutan, Fakhouri and UNHCR will look to the U.S. for
leadership on this issue. End Summary.

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BILATERAL PROCESS IS OFF TRACK
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2. (SBU) On December 4, UNHCR Director for Asia, Jean-Marie
Fakhouri, met privately with Ambassador Malinowski to offer
his impressions of the current Bhutanese refugee situation
from his meetings with refugee leaders in eastern Nepal and
with the Government of Nepal (GON). Fakhouri was accompanied
by UNHCR Country Director Abraham Abraham. DCM and PolOff
also participated. Fakhouri later gave a briefing to donor
government representatives, which PolOff attended.


3. (C) Fakhouri was very worried that the bilateral process
was not moving in the right direction. His meeting on
December 3 with refugee leaders in eastern Nepal confirmed
Fakhouri's concerns about the verification and repatriation
process. The refugees are extremely anxious and are being
forced "to make an emotional decision, not an informed
decision about whether to return to Bhutan," he said.
Fakhouri noted that Category II refugees, which represent the
majority of refugees with a right to return, do not know
where they will be settled or what their status will be
during the two-year probationary period. They do not want to
end up indefinitely in yet another camp, he said. People in
Category II have virtually been stripped of their refugee
status and, Fakhouri expects, may remain stateless persons
for the unforeseeable future.


4. (C) Fakhouri confided that some U.N. agencies based in
Thimpu have been asked by the RGOB to assist in moving ethnic
Nepali citizens and residents into "temporary camps" for
"internally-displaced" people in the north and east of Bhutan
in an alleged effort to increase security in the south and
deprive the Indian separatists of a support base. To
Fakhouri's chagrin, the U.N. agencies had considered
providing support for such a program, but later realized what
a mistake this would be. (Comment. Fakhouri's example
illustrates well the extent to which the RGOB has managed,
through discriminatory policies, to trample on individual
human rights in the name of preserving the national culture
and religion. End Comment.) Fakhouri has also heard that
the resettlement of northern Bhutanese in the south has not
gone well and that more Nepali ethnics are leaving Bhutan and
likely integrating themselves into India.

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THIRD-PARTY OVERSIGHT ESSENTIAL
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5. (C) Fakhouri continues to believe that only UNHCR can
provide appropriate protection and oversight to the refugees
during and after repatriation. However, he admitted, UNHCR
Lubbers has directed him not to continue to seek a role for
UNHCR in the process. Fakhouri expressed disappointment that
the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) and the Bhutanese King
continue to blame UNHCR for allegedly creating the refugee
problem by supporting them in camps rather than forcing them
to assimilate into Nepal. How can they believe anyone would
willingly surrender their citizenship and livelihood in
exchange for life in a refugee camp, he asked.


6. (C) When questioned about whether he believed some other
U.N. organization might be able to provide third-party
oversight for the refugees, Fakhouri noted that the Bhutanese
refugee situation is the only example in UNHCR's history
where it has not been allowed to participate in a negotiated,
trilateral agreement with the governments of the origin and
destination countries. In a recent conversation with the
UNICEF Representative based in Thimpu, Fakhouri learned that
the RGOB has never allowed UNICEF access to southern Bhutan.
UNICEF, he said, feels it is not capable of providing -- nor
does it want to provide -- oversight for the refugees. He
confided that the Danish government had suggested that
third-country diplomats might be able to provide oversight --
a suggestion that Fakhouri strongly dismisses. The DCM
raised the suggestion of certain refugee leaders (reported
septel) that an international organization, such as Lutheran
World Federation or Oxfam, might be able to provide oversight
for refugee repatriation. Fakhouri rejected this proposal
too, arguing that such non-government organizations, while
effective when working hand-in-hand with UNHCR on refugee
matters, do not have the authority or United Nations' mandate
to act as liaisons between governments.

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UNHCR TO PHASE-OUT CARE AND MAINTENANCE, NOT PROTECTION
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7. (C) Fakhouri recalled UNHCR Lubbers' statement before the
UNGA supporting a phased withdrawal from the camps, adding
that his trip has confirmed the need for such a withdrawal.
He noted that having such well-run camps is a "double-edged
knife" because now there exists a wide development gap
between the refugee camps and the neighboring communities.
UNHCR plans gradually to reduce assistance to the camps over
the next two years while using some of the money this saved
for development programs in surrounding communities.
Fakhouri used the example of non-refugee Nepalis regularly
using the camp's health care facilities to illustrate the
necessity for reducing care and maintenance levels in the
camps while raising the level of services available locally.


8. (C) While in Kathmandu, Fakhouri met with the U.N. Country
Team and they agreed that assistance to the Nepali
communities could be undertaken through other U.N. agencies,
such as UNDP. In 2004, UNHCR expects to reduce direct
funding to the camps by roughly USD 1 million while providing
a similar amount for the development of neighboring
communities. Fakhouri highlighted that UNHCR will begin
withdrawal of only care and maintenance in the camps, not
refugee protection. If anything, refugee protection will be
further enhanced over the next two years, he said. UNHCR has
chosen a two-year timeline to correspond with the timetable
informally agreed to by the GON and RGOB for verification and
repatriation of all refugees.


9. (C) Fakhouri went on to explain that UNHCR soon would
conduct a headcount and re-registration of all the refugees
using UNHCR's new registration system. UNHCR also will
conduct a socio-economic survey, using ICMC, to identify
vulnerable populations. These vulnerable populations would
be treated as candidates for possible third-party
resettlement. UNHCR expects the survey to begin in January
2004 and be completed within three months.

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MAOISTS USING THE CAMPS FOR R&R AND HEALTH SERVICES
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10. (C) The Ambassador asked about the current security
situation in the camps. Fakhouri replied that the UNHCR
security officer based in Jhapa has evidence that Maoists are
using the camps as rest stops and for health services.
Although there is no hard evidence, Fakhouri also suspects
that the Maoists are recruiting from the camps. He noted
that the young residents of the camps are relatively
well-educated, politically frustrated and sensitized to human
rights issues. Fakhouri senses a certain level of militancy,
particularly in Khudunabari camp, that might emerge if they
begin to feel their rights are being trammeled by the current
verification and repatriation process.

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UNHCR MAY BECOME MORE VOCAL AGAINST CURRENT PROCESS
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11. (C) Fakhouri noted that UNHCR has remained "very quiet"
about the verification and categorization process, but would
do so no longer. Over the past two years, UNHCR has financed
the GON side of the Joint Verification Team (JVT). However,
UNHCR sent a letter o/a November 28 to Nepal's Home Ministry
informing the GON that it can no longer provide financial
assistance to the JVT. UNHCR did agree to provide one last
payment of USD 40,000 to allow the Nepali team a few months
to find other external support. (FYI: In the donor briefing,
EU Commission Representative informed the group that the GON
has requested such support from the EU. End FYI.) Fakhouri
said that the UNHCR is not yet in a position to advise the
refugees not to return to Bhutan, but didn't preclude that
possibility in the future. Fakhouri's recommendation to
Lubbers upon returning to Geneva will be to issue
"hard-hitting" statements against the current bilateral
process, he said.

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UNHCR SEEKS SUPPORT FROM U.S. AND OTHER DONORS
-------------- -


12. (C) The UNHCR will be looking for support from the U.S.
and other donors, although Fakhouri expressed uncertainty
whether such support would be forthcoming. He said frankly
that Bhutan has managed to "ethnically cleanse"
Bhutanese-Nepalis with almost no objection from the
international community. He anticipated that the situation
might deteriorate if the refugees, upon return to Bhutan, are
forced into labor camps, as was done in Myanmar. Fakhouri
urged the U.S. to provide leadership on this issue, including
organizing another visit of the diplomatic corps to the
refugee camps and the formation of a support group of donors
and U.N. agencies to try to influence the Bhutanese
government. Fakhouri believes that the Bhutanese King
himself is personally engaged on two primary issues: the
insurgency in southern Bhutan and the refugees. He felt that
diplomatic engagement with the King is necessary to get this
process back on track.

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COMMENT
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13. (C) The lack of information available to Khudunabari Camp
refugees regarding their future status in Bhutan remains a
major concern. It is uncertain whether the January 2004
Joint Ministerial will answer the refugees' questions, since
the GON and RGOB have failed to fulfill earlier promises to
provide these answers at previous ministerials. Fakhouri
appeared to be increasingly concerned that conditions inside
Bhutan will not be favorable for the refugees -- a concern
shared by Bhutanese human rights activist Tek Nath Rizal
(reported septel) and by this embassy. They both fear that
the RGOB continues systematically to discriminate against
ethnic Nepalis inside Bhutan. Fakhouri and Rizal also appear
convinced that, through its red carpet treatment of visitors
and the exotic facade of life in Thimpu, the RGOB has lulled
the "Friends of Bhutan" into complacency. Accounts by the
Swiss and Austrian Ambassadors, who returned from Thimpu on
December 3, appear to support this assessment (reported
septel). Fakhouri and Rizal fear that there continues to be
a serious disconnect between the RGOB's words and actions.
If, in fact, the RGOB is confident that the refugees will be
well-cared for, why does it continue to oppose an
international presence in southern Bhutan -- a presence that
would ease the concerns of the refugees and of the
international community? Fakhouri and Rizal also believe,
and Post agrees, that a meeting between refugees leaders and
the Bhutanese King could go far to eliminate mistrust between
the two sides. End Comment.
MALINOWSKI