Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05GENEVA2483
2005-10-14 08:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Mission Geneva
Cable title:  

UNHCR EXCOM #4: PURSUING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR

Tags:  PREF NP PHUM BT PREL UNHCR 
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140841Z Oct 05
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GENEVA 002483 

SIPDIS

USUN FOR MALY; BRUSSELS FOR MEZNAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2010
TAGS: PREF NP PHUM BT PREL UNHCR
SUBJECT: UNHCR EXCOM #4: PURSUING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR
PROGRESS ON BHUTANESE REFUGEES IN NEPAL

REF: GENEVA 2465

Classified By: RMA Counselor Piper Campbell; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GENEVA 002483

SIPDIS

USUN FOR MALY; BRUSSELS FOR MEZNAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2010
TAGS: PREF NP PHUM BT PREL UNHCR
SUBJECT: UNHCR EXCOM #4: PURSUING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR
PROGRESS ON BHUTANESE REFUGEES IN NEPAL

REF: GENEVA 2465

Classified By: RMA Counselor Piper Campbell; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Acting PRM A/S Greene pressed Bhutanese
and Nepalese officials to agree to a comprehensive solution
to the problem of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, during October
3-7 meetings on the margins of UNHCR's annual ExCom.
Nepalese PermRep Acharya asserted a "lack of urgency" on the
part of Bhutan and said that voluntary repatriation "must
form the basis" of any agreement, but also welcomed U.S.
involvement and agreed refugee registration is an appropriate
first step. Bhutanese Permrep Rabgye expressed concern over
Maoist infiltration of the camps, but said Bhutan is
committed to working out an implementation schedule for
return of refugees in categories one and four, as agreed by
the foreign ministers of Bhutan and Nepal earlier this fall
at the UN General Assembly. UNHCR Asia Director Lim sees an
opportunity for a breakthrough and will intensify efforts to
conduct registration and put together a resettlement package.
The Norwegians and Danes want to work to ensure that
resettlement countries provide political impetus, as well as
resettlement commitments, to drive this forward. Indian
PermRep Puri credited recent progress to (in part) new
thinking at UNHCR and offered India's help in persuading
Bhutan to cooperate. End Summary


2. (SBU) On the margins of the October 3-7 annual meeting
of the UNHCR Executive Committee (ExCom),Acting Assistant
Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM)

SIPDIS
Richard Greene met with a number of delegations as well as
UNHCR officials concerning efforts to devise a comprehensive
solution for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. All parties
acknowledge that such a solution will include returns to
Bhutan, local integration, and a major third country
resettlement operation, although differences over the
relative proportions remain. Ambassador Moley participated
in several of the meetings, as did various Mission members.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UNHCR Sees Opportunity, Will Intensify Efforts

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3. (C) During an October 3 meeting with UNHCR's Director
for Asia Janet Lim (other subjects reported septel),Acting
A/S Greene urged UNHCR to redouble its efforts to gain
Nepalese approval to perform refugee registrations and to
assemble a large resettlement offer from interested
governments. Lim responded that she too sees an opportunity
for a breakthrough, although she said governments would have
to maintain political pressure on Nepal and Bhutan. She
plans to travel to Katmandu and hopefully Thimphu soon, and
has spoken with the local Norwegian Mission, which -- as
incoming chair of the Working Group on Resettlement (WGR) --
will champion the issue with other resettlement states. Lim
said UNHCR would quietly intensify its efforts to identify
the most vulnerable Bhutanese refugees, and utilize this
initial resettlement to build confidence for a more
comprehensive agreement.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pressing Nepal to Seize the Momentum
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4. (C) Greene and Ambassador Moley met with Nepalese
PermRep Gyan Chandra Acharya October 3, calling on Nepal to
seize the momentum generated by Bhutan's acceptance of
category one and four returns from at least one camp. Greene
said the U.S. considers Bhutan's offer to be "a start, not an
end," and that we will continue to press for Bhutanese
cooperation. He cautioned, however, that any "grand bargain"
would not consist solely of returns to Bhutan, but would
include local integration and third country resettlement. A
positive step could be resettlement from the camps of the
most vulnerable individuals now. Greene told Acharya that we
expect UNHCR to conduct a registration of refugees in Nepal,
as they do as a matter of policy everywhere they work in
order to better understand refugee demographics and ensure
proper management of assistance. Ambassador Moley reviewed
recent diplomacy on this issue and, saying "we have to start
some place," asserted the time to move forward to a
comprehensive agreement is now.


5. (C) Acharya said Nepal welcomes U.S. involvement. While
he had no direct report on the meeting in New York on the
margins of the UN General Assembly between the Nepalese and
Bhutanese Foreign Ministers, Acharya complained of the lack
of progress in bilateral talks, blaming a "lack of urgency"
on the Bhutanese side. He said Nepal is concerned that the
talks not result in "half-measures," and stated that
voluntary repatriation "must form the basis" of any
comprehensive solution. He said Nepalese officials are not
opposed to refugee registration but had concerns that a
registration would be a prelude to local integration only.
Having had this misperception clarified by UNHCR, Acharya
said Nepal now should "in principal have no objections" to a
registration. Greene emphasized that any returns to Bhutan
must be voluntary and suggested there is a role for local
integration and resettlement. Saying there are probably some
"non-Bhutanese," possibly stateless persons, in the refugee
camps, Acharya admitted "the responsibility is ours" and did
not rule out the possibility of limited local integration.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Norwegian and Danish Resettlement Initiatives
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -


6. (C) At their request, Greene met with the Norwegian and
Danish delegations to ExCom to discuss the Nepal/Bhutan
issue. (Comment: Both countries are jockeying for a lead
diplomatic role, with the Danes trying to launch a
coordinated EU effort and the Norwegians trying to ensure
that the focus of diplomacy is the Geneva-based WGR, which
they chair. End Comment.) Greene began the meeting by
welcoming the Danish and Norwegian initiatives and stressing
the importance of coordinating various diplomatic activities.
He said the U.S. strongly supports UNHCR's request to
register Bhutanese in the refugee camps, despite some
Nepalese reservations the process will lead to a UNHCR
recommendation that the refugees be locally integrated.
Danish MFA Deputy Permanent Secretary Kim Lunding said
Denmark is prepared to work within the EU to encourage
resettlement offers from non-traditional resettlement states
(he made specific reference to new EU members) and undertook
to prepare an EU position paper touching both on the
registration issue and guidelines for a comprehensive
solution. (Draft e-mailed to PRM/MCE.) Norway will make a
parallel approach in the November 2 meeting of the WGR, which
includes major resettlement states outside the EU such as the
U.S., Canada, and Australia.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Indians Will Press Bhutan to Cooperate
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7. (C) Indian PermRep Hardeep Singh Puri told Greene and
Ambassador Moley on October 4 that UNHCR, and in particular
former High Commissioner Lubbers, had been "part of the
problem." By discouraging the "bilateral track" in favor of
a UNHCR-brokered multilateral agreement, UNHCR had delayed
resolution of the issue, according to Puri. Commenting that
Bhutan would greatly appreciate efforts to resettle a large
part of the caseload, Puri pledged that India would encourage
Bhutan to be flexible.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Bhutan Cautious but Appreciates U.S. Involvement
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -


8. (C) In an October 7 meeting with Bhutanese PermRep Sonam
Rabgye, Greene noted with appreciation Bhutan's recent
decision to allow category one and category four returns from
one of the camps in Nepal. He told Rabgye such a confidence
building measure could facilitate a more comprehensive
solution that would include refugee returns to Bhutan, local
integration in Nepal, and third country resettlement. As
part of that package, he said, the U.S. is prepared to
consider substantial numbers of resettlement cases. Greene
pressed Bhutan to seize the moment and look for opportunities
to resolve the remaining outstanding issues.


9. (C) Rabgye expressed appreciation for how hard former
PRM A/S Dewey worked to obtain a comprehensive agreement. He
also credited a meeting in New York on the margins of the UN
General Assembly between Bhutanese Foreign Minister Wangchuk
and South Asia Bureau A/S Rocca with drawing out Bhutan's
offer (which was accepted shortly afterward in a meeting
between Wangchuk and his Nepali counterpart). Rabgye said
the two foreign ministers agreed to work out an
implementation schedule and that "there is no need to
reinvent the wheel." Citing reports that some of the
Nepalese refugee camps have been infiltrated by Maoist
elements, Rabgye said Bhutan does not want to import
"ready-made terrorists." Rabgye concluded by noting that
Bhutan is a less populated country with large neighbors and a
substantial percentage of ethnic minorities already, and must
take that into account when making decisions on this issue.
Cassel