NEPAL: FOREIGN MINISTER AGREES TO RAISE PENDING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001042

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

MANILA FOR ADB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL CVIS KFRD KOCI PREF PTER EAID ADB
BT, JA, NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: FOREIGN MINISTER AGREES TO RAISE PENDING
ADOPTIONS IN CABINET

REF: KATHMANDU 925

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

Summary
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1. (C) In response to a request from the Ambassador, Foreign
Minister Pradhan agreed May 24 to raise the U.S. interest in
a speedy process for parents with pending Nepali adoptions
with Maoist Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare
Biswokarma and in the cabinet. At the same time, the
Ambassador affirmed the strong U.S. support for reform of the
adoption process. With respect to the Bhutanese refugees,
Foreign Minister Pradhan and the Ambassador concurred that
the Royal Government of Bhutan appeared unwilling to
repatriate any. The Ambassador noted that he would be
traveling to the refugee camps on May 25 for the day. The
Ambassador also informed the Minister that Japanese
Ambassador Hiraoka had told him the Melamchi fiasco could
jeopardize Japan's continued grant assistance to Nepal. The
United States had an interest in the Asian Development Bank
supporting the Melamchi water project for the Kathmandu
Valley, but no interest in promoting the agenda of Maoist
Minister for Physical Planning Yami. Pradhan agreed that
Yami should not be allowed to hold the entire government
hostage and said the cabinet would be considering next steps.

Foreign Minister Agrees To Raise Adoptions
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2. (SBU) At a meeting May 24, the Ambassador explained to
Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan that over the past 4-5 years,
German, French and U.S. parents, along with Spanish and
Italians, had been adopting large numbers of children in
Nepal. The U.S. and the other adopting countries were
strongly in favor of reform and understood the recent
decision by Maoist Minister for Women, Children and Social
Welfare Khadga Biswokarma to suspend adoptions pending reform
of the process (reftel). The French and German Governments
had already suspended Nepali adoptions because of concerns
about fraud and the lack of transparency. The Ambassador
noted that he had raised the same issues of fraud and lack of
transparency with the previous Minister for Women and
Children, Urmila Aryal. He stated that he had been pleased
to learn then that legislation had been introduced to bring
Nepal's adoption procedures into compliance with
international norms. The U.S. concern was for parents who
had adoptions pending at the time of Minister Biswokarma's
decision. The Ambassador's request was for some sort of
speedy process to review the cases for these parents, who had
made considerable emotional investments in the children, and
move forward. Otherwise, they would have to go back to
square one. Minister Pradhan expressed sympathy and agreed
to raise the U.S. request with Minister Biswokarma and in the
cabinet.

Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement Moving Forward
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3. (C) The Ambassador and the Foreign Minister spoke at
length about U.S. plans for resettlement of Bhutanese
refugees. The Ambassador revealed that only days' earlier
the United States had selected the International Office of
Migration (IOM) to be the implementing partner for the
resettlement program. IOM would open an office in Kathmandu
in July and was expected to open an office in Jhapa District
near the camps in mid-September. It would begin processing
cases which the UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) had referred at that time. The U.S.
expectation was that by January 2007 officials of the U.S.

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Department of Homeland Security would issue the first
transportation letters. The U.S. was still working out the
details with the Government of Nepal (GON),specifically the
Home Ministry, on procedures, particularly on expedited exit
permits. But, the Ambassador added, the process was moving
ahead smoothly. The Foreign Minister agreed.

Minister Poses Questions About U.S. Criteria
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4. (C) The Ambassador reaffirmed that the U.S. would not
discriminate in its selection of refugees for resettlement
based on age or education. He stressed that families would
be kept together, but no one would be compelled to resettle.
The disqualifications from resettlement were the ones one
would expect. Was the applicant a criminal? Had he or she
engaged in political violence? The Ambassador noted that all
the refugees would receive a complete medical exam (which IOM
would arrange). There were also medical criteria, the most
important of which concerned tuberculosis. The good news was
that this was not a permanent disqualification, but refugees
found to have TB would have to undergo treatment in Nepal
before qualifying for resettlement. Regarding training in
the U.S., the Ambassador said that non-governmental
organizations would have the principal responsibility.
Perhaps the biggest question was how the initial batch of
refugees would be selected. The Ambassador admitted that no
decision had yet been made, but, in consultation, with UNHCR,
the most likely outcome was that the people with special
needs, who were at the greatest risk, would get priority.

U.S. Process To Be Transparent As Possible
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5. (C) The Ambassador said that the U.S. goal was that the
process be as transparent as possible. The U.S. had recently
put out a fact sheet answering many of the commonly asked
questions about the resettlement program, and the Ambassador
said he planned to visit the refugee camps himself May 25 to
meet with refugee leaders and answer questions. UNHCR also
planned to conduct its own information program about
resettlement in the camps. The U.S. had indicated that
60,000 refugees was a floor, not a cap, to its program. With
the addition of resettlement pledges by other Core Group
countries, there was reason to believe that every refugee who
wished to resettle abroad would be able to do so. The
Ambassador and the Foreign Minister agreed that it was
regrettable that the Royal Government of Bhutan did not
appear to be willing to repatriate any of the refugees. The
Ambassador emphasized, however, that resettled refugees would
not lose their right to seek repatriation in Bhutan and would
likely quickly form a powerful lobby in the U.S. The U.S.
would continue to urge Bhutan to take back at least some of
the refugees and to press the Government of India to use its
considerable influence in Thimpu toward the same end.

Concern Over Mishandling of Melamchi Project
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6. (C) The Ambassador informed Minister Pradhan that Japanese
Ambassador Tsutomo Hiraoka had told him earlier on May 24
that Japan's continued grant assistance to Nepal could be
jeopardized by the GON's mishandling of the Melamchi water
project (septel). As the biggest shareholders in the Asian
Development Bank, Japan and the United States wanted the
ADB's USD 165 million loan to the Melamchi to proceed if
possible. Clearly, there was a need for improved water
management in the Kathmandu Valley. At present, the supply
of water was less than one third of the demand. But neither
country had an interest in promoting the agenda of Maoist
Minister for Physical Planning Hisila Yami. How was it

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possible, the Ambassador asked, that one minister could hold
up the entire process by refusing to give a contract for
water management, approved by the cabinet per the tender, to
the private British firm that was selected. Severn Trent had
admittedly been the sole bidder, but there was no evidence
that Nepal had the domestic capacity to handle the task.
Pradhan agreed that Yami should not be allowed to jeopardize
this project and said the cabinet would be considering next
steps.

Comment
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7. (C) Foreign Minister Pradhan is still learning her brief,
but she is smart and wants to be helpful. She seemed
genuinely appreciative of the Ambassador's explanation of
details of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and
reaffirmed her support for that process. It is a pity
Pradhan does not carry more clout within her party, the
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist.
MORIARTY