REFOULEMENT OF TWO TIBETAN REFUGEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000553 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS, PRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2016 TAGS: PREF CH NP SUBJECT: REFOULEMENT OF TWO TIBETAN REFUGEES Classified By: Acting DCM Robert Hugins, Reasons, 1.4 (b/d). Refoulement of Two Young Girls -------------- ¶1. (C) On February 24, UNHCR Protection officer told Emboff about a case of two sisters, age eight and thirteen, now at the Tibetan Reception Center (TRC),whom the Nepali authorities had turned over to the Chinese authorities in October/November 2005. The UNHCR officer has used two interpreters to communicate with the young girls, who only speak an obscure Tibetan dialect, to piece together what happened. According to the girls, their father, who had a passport, fled with his five children, none of whom had documents. While the father legally crossed the China-Nepal border at Tatopani, he entrusted his children with two different groups of smugglers. Three of his children showed up at the TRC, however these two girls did not until more recently. In October/November 2005, Nepalese authorities caught the two on a bus, unaccompanied by the smuggler, in Sindhupalchok District (on the Tibetan border) trying to get to Kathmandu. The Nepalese treated the girls well, but returned them to the border and turned them over to the Chinese authorities. The Chinese authorities placed them in a series of detention centers, where the authorities slapped, beat and kicked them and interrogated them about their family, place of origin and purpose of leaving. The two girls subsequently made it to the TRC in January 2006. UNHCR commented that, despite the girls' inability to communicate, the Nepalese authorities should have known that the proper procedure was to call TRC and UNHCR, and TRC representatives would have come to Sindhupalchok to escort the girls to the TRC. Other Cases? -------------- ¶2. (C) UNHCR is investigating a second case involving a boy, 12 years old, who appears to have been returned by Nepalese authorities in 2004 or 2005. UNHCR also plans to discuss recent cases brought to its attention of relatives travelling from Tibet to the TRC and retrieving refugees who remained stuck at the TRC. UNHCR will explain that the TRC should not turn over the children to people without further investigating the facts. (Note: There have been allegations that relatives have brought back refugees because Chinese authorities had threatened family remaining in Tibet unless the refugees returned. End Note.) TRC Overcrowding -------------- ¶3. (C) As of February 24, there were 750 Tibetan refugees registered at the TRC, although only 650 are resident there. The other 100 are staying with relatives or at monasteries because of overcrowding. According to UNHCR, about 1000 refugees have travelled to India without exit permits over the past couple months. UNHCR stated it had no reason to think refugees assisted by UNHCR would be treated any differently. Thus, UNHCR plans to provide assistance to 18 extreme protection cases, including the two sisters and the 12-year old boy mentioned above, to help them get to India, even though they do not have exit permits. (The refugees do have entry permits for India.) If the group reaches India safely, UNHCR plans to expand the program to move refugees at the TRC to India. Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) UNHCR is investigating these cases to develop further information. UNHCR's Border Monitoring Mission makes regular visits to the Tibetan border and has no particular difficulties dealing with Nepalese authorities. We agree with UNHCR that there does not appear to be any policy change or any pattern of refoulement. UNHCR believes the case of the two sisters was unusual and the refoulement was due in part to the young girls travelling alone. However, we plan to raise our deep concern about these refoulement cases with His Majesty's Government of Nepal. UNHCR told us it planned to do so as well. MORIARTY