Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KATHMANDU1603
2007-08-24 12:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

NEPAL: AMBASSADOR REVIEWS ELECTION, REFUGEES AND

Tags:  PREL PGOV EAID PREF ELAB KDEM KWMN AMGT BT 
pdf how-to read a cable
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INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 6037
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 6339
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1587
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 4363
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2910
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001603 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PREF ELAB KDEM KWMN AMGT BT
CH, NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: AMBASSADOR REVIEWS ELECTION, REFUGEES AND
ADOPTIONS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER

REF: KATHMANDU 1531

Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001603

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PREF ELAB KDEM KWMN AMGT BT
CH, NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: AMBASSADOR REVIEWS ELECTION, REFUGEES AND
ADOPTIONS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER

REF: KATHMANDU 1531

Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) During the Ambassador's introductory call on Foreign
Minister Pradhan on August 13, the Ambassador emphasized the
ongoing U.S. interest in assisting Nepal with its upcoming
Constituent Assembly election and its democratic transition.
Minister Pradhan responded that the election was the
Government of Nepal's (GON's) central preoccupation. The
Ambassador stressed that Washington was eager to see the
program for resettlement of Bhutanese refugees put into place
quickly and the Minister agreed. The Ambassador voiced U.S.
concern regarding the GON's refoulement of a Tibetan refugee
to China in mid-July (reftel). Pradhan expressed sympathy
for the request by the Ambassador for a special arrangement
for the large number of American adoption cases in the
pipeline. She added that Minister of Women, Children and
Social Welfare Biswokarma had told her recently that it would
take "some time" for the GON to approve the new law. The
Foreign Minister concurred with the Ambassador that the
Interim Parliament's adoption August 12 of a new law on
overseas labor was a step forward. In response to a question
from the Foreign Minister, the Ambassador remarked that she
was reviewing next steps on the diversity visa program: what
to do about those who had protested their refusals as well as
how to roll out the new program.

Constituent Assembly Election Is Issue No. 1
--------------


2. (C) In her introductory call on Foreign Minister Sahana
Pradhan on August 13, the Ambassador stressed that the United
States was fully committed to assisting the Government of
Nepal (GON) with the Constituent Assembly election in

November and with its transition to democracy. The Ambassador
noted that she had been pleased to inform Prime Minister
Koirala August 10 that the U.S. would provide USD 3 million
for the ballots. She added that she was also looking at how
the U.S. could help after the election, perhaps by providing
training to women Members of Parliament, on top of existing
USAID funding for democracy programs. Minister Pradhan
responded that the election was the GON's central
preoccupation. Pradhan pointed out that the Constituent
Assembly had been on the country's political agenda since

1951. The Minister concurred with the Ambassador that the
election offered an opportunity to greatly increase women's
political representation. Whether Nepal would attain the 33
percent representation of women in all areas of public life
as set forth in the Interim Constitution remained to be seen.

Bhutanese Resettlement Should Go Forward
--------------


3. (C) The Ambassador remarked that one of the principal
stumbling blocks to resettlement of Bhutanese refugees was
Cabinet approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the Government of Nepal (GON) and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM). (Note: The MOU has since
been concluded on August 23. End note.) She noted as well
that ensuring the security of those who chose resettlement
was a key outstanding issue. Fortunately, Australian
Ambassador Graeme Lade had agreed to stay on as head of the
Core Group in Nepal on Bhutanese refugees until she had a
chance to become more familiar with the issues. The Foreign
Minister expressed agreement about the need to move forward
with resettlement.

Concern About Return of Tibetan To China
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador took the opportunity to voice concern
about the refoulement of a Tibetan refugee to China in July

KATHMANDU 00001603 002 OF 003


(reftel). The Embassy had been informed, she said, that the
return of the refugee did not constitute a change in official
policy. This was an individual case. Nevertheless, the
Ambassador emphasized that this was an issue of great
interest in Washington and one we would continue to follow
closely.

Adoptions: Special Arrangement for Pipeline Cases?
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Another issue of concern, the Ambassador said, was the
status of American adoptions of Nepali children which had
been held up since April because of the GON's review and
reform of adoption law and regulations. While the U.S. very
much appreciated Nepal's effort to bring its adoption system
in line with international norms, there was a humanitarian
issue for those families caught in the pipeline. The
Ambassador asked if some special arrangement could be made
for them, keeping in mind that the U.S. would maintain its
own strict scrutiny of the process to help prevent fraud.
She emphasized that the U.S. shared Nepal's concern that
children not be trafficked. Minister Pradhan was
sympathetic. She said (Maoist) Minister for Women, Children
and Social Welfare Khadga Biswokarma had told her recently
that it would take "some time" to approve the new law.

New Labor Law Approved
--------------


6. (C) The Minister and the Ambassador agreed that the
Interim Parliament's August 12 passage of the new Foreign
Employment Act represented progress. The stiffer
requirements for manpower agencies wishing to send Nepalis
overseas for employment and stiffer fines when those
requirements were not met would help to protect Nepali
workers. Now the law needed to be implemented and
appropriate regulations adopted. The Ambassador stated that
the huge increase in Nepalis employed overseas was one of the
most noteworthy changes she had observed since her return to
Nepal after 25 years. The Foreign Minister concurred that
this was a significant shift. Traditionally, Nepalis had
gone to India or had joined the British Army. Now Nepalis
could be found working all over the world.

Handling Review of Diversity Visa Cases
--------------


7. (C) In response to a question from the Foreign Minister,
the Ambassador remarked that she was reviewing next steps on
the Diversity Visa (DV) program: what to do about those who
had appealed their refusals as well as how to roll out the
new program. She proposed waiting approximately a month,
until after the U.S. Mission had moved into its new facility
and she had had a chance to discuss the various aspects of
the case, including public relations, consular and security
matters, with the Embassy team before announcing the results
of the review. The Ambassador mentioned as well that it
would be time soon to announce the new DV program. Although
the Embassy had already looked closely at the way the
program's procedures were explained to visa applicants, she
wanted to take one more look. Minister Pradhan replied that
she understood the need to wait to announce the results of
the review. Until then, she anticipated that she would
continue to have refused DV applicants call on her every week
asking when an announcement would be forthcoming.

Claims From New Embassy Construction
--------------


8. (SBU) Minister Pradhan informed the Ambassador that she
was aware of 20-25 persons who did not receive compensation
for damage incurred to their property in the course of the
construction of the New Embassy Compound. She requested that
they be compensated. The Ambassador responded that she was
aware of a number of cases where compensation had been
awarded. She also suggested that there might be fraudulent

KATHMANDU 00001603 003 OF 003


claims or repeat claims by those who had already been paid.
The Minister said she would send a list of the claimants to
the Embassy and the Ambassador promised that the Embassy
would forward this list to the contractor for comparison.
(Note: The contractor has legal responsibility for any
claims resulting from the construction of the Embassy. The
contractor has already compensated neighboring property
owners for inconvenience -- not damage -- due to the
construction. End note.)

Comment
--------------


9. (C) Minister Pradhan is not the most powerful member of
the Interim Cabinet, but she is inclined to help the U.S.
when she can. An MOU on the resettlement issue has been
concluded since the Ambassador's meeting with the Foreign
Minister. We are less hopeful of a quick solution on the
adoption front. With the Interim Parliament considering
adjourning, there may not be enough time for a new adoption
law to be enacted. Even absent a new law, however, post will
continue to press the GON to make a special arrangement for
American and other families caught in the pipeline.
POWELL