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Bhutan Women and Children Organisation
(BWCO) has been undertaking advocacy work the United Nations forums.
The President of BWCO has been persistently making intervention
on minority rights, Christians' situation, refugee issues at the
sessions of Working
Group on Minorities of UN Human Rights Sub-Commission on the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,
Geneva. These interventions have been included in the final report of
the United Nations and sent to the Royal Government of Bhutan. They
are reproduced as follows:
INTERVENTION IN
2002
Iintervention on Bhutan and Bhutanese refugees presented by Bhutan Women and
Children Organisation to the Eighth session of the Working Group on
Minorities of UN Human Rights Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights, currently in session from 27-31 June 2002.
Submitted on May
27 2002 is reproduced as follows:
UN Commission on Human Rights
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Forty-fourth session
UN
Working Group on Minorities
Eighth
session, 27 to 31 May 2002
Geneva
Switzerland
May 27
2002
Thank you
Mr. Chairman,
I am
representing the Bhutan Women and Children Organisation, based in exile
in Nepal. I am very grateful to the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights
for sponsoring my participation in
this eighth session
I would like to draw the
attention of the Working Group on Minorities to the plight of over one
hundred thousand Bhutanese refugees, Nepal-Bhutan Joint Verification process
of Bhutanese refugees and to discuss the fate of over 45,000 refugee
children. My intention in this intervention is to request the assistance of
the UN Working Group on Minorities to urge the government of Bhutan for the
speedy verification and repatriation of refugees and stopping of
resettlement in the land of refugees by other communities.
Bhutan is a
multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society. There are
three main ethnic, religious and linguistic groups and a dozen smaller
groups. The Ngalung – often called Drukpas – are the ruling group who
control the monarchy and the government and dominate the economy. The
Sharchhop live in the eastern and central districts and practice Nyingmapa
sect of Mahayana Buddhism. The Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas live in the
southern foothill districts and practice mostly Hinduism.
PROBLEMS
REFUGEES
The
government of Bhutan through manipulation of various citizenship and
marriage laws has implemented discriminatory and racist policies to
denationalize more than 120,000 Lhotshampas, who comprise approximately 20
percent of the total population of Bhutan. The government confiscated the
citizenship certificates of thousands of Lhotshampa and were forcefully
evicted in 1990. They are now living as refugees in
Nepal and India.
Under
international pressure, Bhutan agreed to interview refugees to determine
their status as Bhutanese. A Joint Verification Team (JVT) comprising
members of both Nepal and Bhutan started verification of refugees in
Khudunabari, one of the seven refugee camps in Nepal on March 26, 2001. The
JVT completed the interview and verification of the identity and documents
in possession of refugees in Khudunabari on December 14, 2001. After
which, the Bhutanese team went back and the verification process remains
stalled. According to various media reports almost all interviewed refugees
possessed some kind of documents issued to them by the Royal Government of
Bhutan as proof of their last legal residence or their origin in Bhutan.
There was
no transparency in the whole exercise and the JVT kept the entire process in
secrecy thereby creating grounds for suspicion. The JVT refused to announce
the result of interviewed refugees, whether they are qualified to go home
or not.. The government of Bhutan must declare the results of the
interviewed refugees and make immediate arrangement for their repatriation.
It should, without any future interruption, continue the verification and
interview of the remaining refugees in the rest of camps. It should
complete the verification process with in a time frame. All of these
refugees are anxious to be able to exercise their right – under
international law – to return to Bhutan with dignity and honour.
The
government of Bhutan refuses to include the representatives of refugee
community, and the UNHCR in the Joint Verification Team . The
representatives of refugee community, OHCHR and the UNHCR must be included
in the JVT for an equitable and judicious resolution of Bhutanese refugee
problem. The government of Bhutan must open direct dialogue with the refugee
community.
Authentic
information on the origin, causes, and current situation about Bhutanese
refugees and political situation in
Bhutan can be found
at the following website:
http://www.oocities.org/bhutaneserefugees
.
CHILDREN
There are
approximately 45,000 refugee children under the age of 18 living in the
refugee camps in eastern Nepal since 1991. This constitutes around 14
percent of total child population of Bhutan. More than 17,000 children have
been born in the refugee camps in Nepal since, 1991. According to Bhutanese
law, these children do not have the right to Bhutanese nationality or the
right of return to their country. These children are in a situation of
statelessness. The government of Bhutan must take immediate action and make
necessary arrangement to protect the rights of these children under
international law to end the status of their statelessness. The Government
should re-open all closed schools in the south and protect the Lhotshampa
children's right to education by providing schooling consistent with
minority rights.
RESETTLEMENT
The
Government of Bhutan confiscated the lands owned by the Lhotshampa refugees.
Since 1998, the Government has been transferring population from north and
east of the country on the lands of refugees in Southern Bhutan. This will
make it very difficult for refugees to return to the land they previously
owned and has disrupted the Lhotshampa’s cultural links to this territory.
The Habitat
International Coalition undertook a Fact Finding Mission in
September-October 2001 to verify the resettlement on lands of Bhutanese
refugees. They released their report on Resettlement on Lands of Bhutanese
Refugees in January 2002, which confirms the refugee claims of refugees
that government is resettling other people in their land.
The
government must stop the resettlement programme in the lands of refugees to
enable the refugees to return to their own land.
DISCRIMINATORY LAWS
The
government of Bhutan has been implementing a discriminatory Citizenship Act,
1985 targeting against the Lhotshampa minorities. This Act has been
responsible for denationalization of more than 120,000 Lhotshampa minorities
and generation of Bhutanese refugees. . The government must repeal this
racist and discriminatory Act.
DISCRIMINATION IN EDUCATION
AND EMPLOYMENT
In 1990, the government
introduced a discriminatory rule requiring all Lhotshampa people to produce
a ‘No Objection Certificate’ ( now called as Security Clearance
Certificate) issued by the police. This certificate is required for a
child’s admission to school, for seeking employment, for obtaining travel
documents and carrying out business activities. It is not possible for a
Lhotshampa person to be granted this police clearance.
The Lhotshampas are thus,
denied the right to equal employment opportunities, equal access to trade,
business and industrial activities to enable their economic progress.
Members of these groups are discriminated against in recruitment and
promotion in the civil services and denied access to senior government
jobs. They are not awarded government contracts or supplies. The
government must withdraw this discriminatory rule.
The
government of Bhutan has failed to adhere to the provisions of UDHR, UN
Declaration on Minorities, ICCPR and ICESCR. The government should ratify
the Convention against Torture, International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women.
CONSTITUTION
The government of Bhutan
has commissioned a committee for drafting a national Constitution. The
government should not include the provisions of the current discriminatory
laws including Citizenship Act in the new Constitution. The government
must guarantee and protect citizens’ fundamental rights, personal liberty,
the rights of persons belonging to religious, linguistic, cultural,
national and ethnic minorities and uphold rule of law in the new
Constitution. The government must incorporate the provisions of ICCPR,
ICESCR CAT, CEDAW, ICERD in the national Constitution and national laws
RECOMMENDATIONS
We appeal for an early resumption of Nepal-Bhutan Ministerial
Talk and JVT for the speedy verification of remaining refugees and their
early repatriation to Bhutan with dignity and honour.
We request the
government of Bhutan to immediately stop all resettlement on the lands
of refugees.
We
request the government to take immediate action to protect the
rights of refugee children under international law to
end the status of their statelessness.
We request the government to immediately withdraw the
requirement of “Security Clearance Certificates” for Lhotshampa people.
We appeal to the government to guarantee and protect
citizens’ fundamental rights, personal liberty, the rights of persons
belonging to religious, linguistic, cultural, national and ethnic
minorities and uphold rule of law in the new Constitution.
We request that the Government of Bhutan repeal all
discriminatory and racist laws and policies including the Citizenship Act,
1985 and Marriage Act and take all necessary measures and actions to protect
the refugees’ right to nationality and to exercise the right of return to
Bhutan.
The Government should re-open all closed schools in the south
and protect the Lhotshampa children's right to education by providing
schooling consistent with minority rights.
We suggest the inclusion of the representatives of refugee
community, OHCHR and the UNHCR in the Joint Verification Team to
ensure that it is carried out in accordance with international standards and
that the human rights of this group of tens of thousands of refugees are
upheld.
We appeal to the government to ratify the ICCPR, ICESCR
CAT, CEDAW, ICERD and incorporate their provisions in the national
Constitution and national laws
Finally we would like to urge the UN Working Group on
Minorities to encourage open and productive dialogue between the government
of Bhutan and the Bhutan refugee community for a realistic solution of
Bhutan’s political and refugee problems. We would like to invite the
Chairman to consider a field visit to the refugee camps in Nepal to
investigate and assess the ground realities.
Thanking you, Mr. Chairman
President
Bhutan
women and Children Organisation (BWCO)
----------
INTERVENTION IN 2001
UN Commission on
Human Rights
Sub-Commission on
the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
UN Working Group
on Minorities
Seventh session,
14 to 18 May 2001
Thank you Mr.
Chairman,
I am representing the Bhutan Women and Children Organisation, based
in exile in Nepal. I would like to draw the attention of the UN
Working Group on Minorities to the Nepal-Bhutan Joint Verification
process of Bhutanese refugees and to discuss the situation of refugees
and other minorities of Bhutan. My intention in this intervention is
to request the assistance of the UN Working Group on Minorities to
urge the government of Bhutan for the speedy verification and
repatriation of refugees, stopping of resettlement in the land of
refugees by other communities and stopping of persecution of Bhutanese
Christians.
Bhutan is a
multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society. There
are three main ethnic, religious and linguistic groups and a dozen
smaller groups. The Ngalung – often called Drukpas – are the ruling
group who control the monarchy and the government and dominate the
economy. The Sharchhop live in the eastern and central districts and
practice Nyingmapa sect of Mahayana Buddhism. The Bhutanese Lhotshampa
live in the southern foothill districts and practice mostly Hinduism.
I would like to draw
your kind attention to the situation of the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa
people in Bhutan and the large Lhotshampa refugee population living in
Nepal. The Royal Government of Bhutan discriminates against
Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas in all areas of social, economic and
political life at local and national levels. They are
discriminated on the basis of race, culture, language and religion,
which are different from the ruling Ngalung people.
REFUGEE
VERIFICATION
The government of
Bhutan through manipulation of various citizenship and marriage laws
has implemented discriminatory and racist policies to denationalize
more than 120,000 Lhotshampas, who comprise approximately 20 percent
of the total population of Bhutan. They government confiscated the
citizenship certificates of thousands of Lhotshampa and were
forcefully evicted in 1990. Most are now living as refugees in Nepal
and India.
Out of this 120,000
refugees, approximately 45,000 are children under the age of 18
living in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal since 1990. This
constitutes around 14 percent of total child population of Bhutan.
17,000 children have been born in the refugee camps in Nepal since,
1991. According to Bhutanese law, these children do not have the right
to Bhutanese nationality or the right of return to their country. All
of these refugees are anxious to be able to exercise their right –
under international law – to return to Bhutan with dignity and honour.
Under international
pressure, Bhutan has agreed to interview refugees to determine their
status as Bhutanese. Since March 26, 2001, a Joint Verification Team (JVT)
comprising members of both Nepal and Bhutan have started verification
of refugees. The process of verification is too slow, faulty, lengthy
and time consuming. The JVT is able to verify only ten refugee
families a day out of a total of approximately 16,000 families
consisting of over 100,000 refugees. There is no transparency in the
whole exercise and the JVT is keeping the entire process in secrecy
thereby creating grounds for suspicion. The JVT has refused to
announce the result of interviewed refugees, saying that result will
be announced after the completion of entire verification process,
which will take six years at the current pace. Currently only one
team of JVT is working. There should be at least three team of JVT to
complete the verification process.
RESETTLEMENT
The Government of
Bhutan confiscated the lands owned by the Lhotshampa refugees. The
government is now resettling other groups from the north and east of
Bhutan onto these lands in the south. This will make it very difficult
for refugees to return to the land they previously owned and has
disrupted the Lhotshampa’s cultural links to this territory. This
dislocation is a violation of the Bhutanese government’s obligation
to protect and promote the existence of the Lhotshampa’s identity
within Bhutanese territory under Article 1.1 of the UN Declaration on
…..Minorities.
DENIAL OF
RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
Christians in Bhutan, who make up less
than one percent of the population, are facing some of the strongest
opposition and persecution by the government. Persecution against
Christians is now widespread and systematic, village by village. On
Palm Sunday, April 8, 2001, Bhutanese authorities and police went to
churches to register the names of believers. Many pastors were
detained for interrogation and threatened with imprisonment. Other
believers scattered for fear of being identified. Christians now face
termination of employment, expulsion from the country, cancellation of
trade licenses, and denial of all state benefits Penalties for
practicing the Christian faith include no free education for children,
no free medical facilities, no promotions, and no visas for travelling
abroad, and other restrictions. Christians are asked either to leave
their religion or leave the country. The young Christian are not
issued with the citizenship identity cards and they are on the verge
of loosing their right to nationality. In some places they are
beaten very badly. The fear is growing among believers. The campaign
started last year when the government began sending official forms to
government employees and private businesses demanding the Christians
to sign agreements to comply with "rules and regulations governing the
practice of religion." We have enclosed the newspaper clipping and
their web address at the end of this intervention.
The government
enforces a cultural policy of ‘ One Nation, One People’ and Driglam
Namzha’ is designed to undermine the distinct cultural, linguistic,
and religious identities of other minority peoples. Minorities and
denied their right to wear traditional dress – even in the home – and
are forced to keep their cut at a regulated short length. The
Sharchhops are denied their right to practice their Nyingmapa Buddhist
faith. Monks are arrested and imprisoned. These are violations of
Article 2.1 of the Declaration and of many other rights to freedom of
expression and belief.
DISCRIMINATION IN
EDUCATION
In 1990, the
government introduced a discriminatory rule requiring all Lhotshampa
citizens to produce a ‘No Objection Certificate’ issued by the police.
But it was virtually impossible for a Lhotshampa person to be granted
this police clearance. Without this certificate, a child cannot attend
school. The Government of Bhutan closed down all the schools in
southern Bhutan. The government thus, in effect, has denied the
Lhotshampa children access to education, violating Articles 1.2 and
4.4 of the Declaration. The teaching in the Nepali language has been
banned, thus denying their rights under Article 4.3
DISCRIMINATION IN
EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS
The Lhotshampas and
other minorities are denied the right to equal employment
opportunities and equal access to trade, business and industrial
activities to enable their economic progress. Members of these groups
are discriminated against in recruitment and promotion in the civil
services and do not have access to senior government jobs. They are
not awarded government contracts or supplies. The government has
therefore failed to take appropriate measures to ensure that members
of minorities can participate fully in the economic life of the
country, as is protected under Article 4.5.
DISCRIMINATION IN
PARTICIPATION
The Lhotshampas are
discriminatorily prevented from participation in the national
decisions effecting them. The government programmes and policies do
not reflect the interests of minorities. The government thus,
denies the rights of minorities under Article 5(1) of the UN
Declaration on Minorities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I
appeal for the speedy verification of refugees and their early return
to home. The government of Bhutan should increase the current one team
of the Joint Verification Team to at least three teams.
I
request the Government to immediately stop all resettlement on the
lands of Lhotshampa refugees.
I
request the Government immediately stop persecution of Christians,
allow them to practice their religion and have them to construct their
Church.
We
request that the Government of Bhutan repeal all discriminatory and
racist laws and policies including the Citizenship Act, 1985 and
Marriage Act and take all necessary measures and actions to protect
the refugees’ right to nationality and to exercise the right of return
to Bhutan. The
Government should re-open all closed schools in the south and protect
the Lhotshampa children's right to education by providing schooling
consistent with minority rights. We
suggest the inclusion of the international organizations, like the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the Human Rights
Commissioner and international NGOs, to monitor the verification
process and ensure that it is carried out in accordance with
international standards and that the human rights of this group of
tens of thousands of refugees are upheld. Finally,
I would like to urge the UN Working Group on Minorities to encourage
open and productive dialogue between the government of Bhutan and the
opposition refugee leader in Nepal for a realistic solution of
Bhutan’s political and refugee problems. We would like to invite the
Chairman to consider a field visit to the refugee camps of the Nepal
to investigate and assess the ground realities.
Thanking you, Mr. Chairman
President
Bhutan women and
Children Organisation (BWCO)
------------------------
Calgary Herald, Canada, April 23, 2001
Vatican says Asian kingdom of Bhutan
persecuting Christians
VATICAN CITY (AP) - A Vatican agency
said Monday it is receiving reports that the Asian kingdom of Bhutan
is stepping up pressure on its tiny Christian community.
Fides, the news service of the Vatican's
missionary arm, quoted Christian Solidarity Worldwide as reporting
that fear is growing among Christians, who are less than one per cent
of the population in the predominantly Buddhist kingdom. "Bhutanese
Christians are being told to either leave their religion or leave the
country," Fides quoted the British-based organization, which monitors
religious freedom for Christians, as saying. The Vatican organization
said it has received its own reports through the years of the
persecution of Christians in Bhutan.
It said, citing Christian Solidarity,
that on Palm Sunday, April 8, Bhutanese authorities and police went to
churches to register the names of believers, and that many pastors
were detained for interrogation and threatened with imprisonment. ©
The Canadian Press, 2001
http://www.southam.com/calgaryherald/newsnow/
cpfs/world/010423/w042326.html
20-Apr-2001 --
EWTN News Brief
CHRISTIANS TOLD TO LEAVE FAITH OR LEAVE
BHUTAN
ROME, Apr. 20, 01 (CWNews.com/Fides) -
Christians in Bhutan, who make up only 0.33 percent of the population,
are facing some of the strongest opposition and persecution they have
ever experienced, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports. Fear is
growing among believers. Bhutanese Christians are being told to either
leave their religion or leave the tiny Asian country, located between
India, Nepal, and China.
Bhutan, the only Buddhist kingdom in the
world, has no written constitution or bill of rights. There is no
legal guarantee of freedom of religion. Buddhism is the state religion
and non-Buddhists suffer political and social discrimination. 70.1
percent of a population of 1,800,000, are Lamaistic Buddhists, 24
percent are Hindu, 5 percent Muslims, 0.6 percent animist, and 0.33
percent Christians, (of whom 500 are Catholics).
Persecution against Christians is now
widespread and systematic, village by village. On Palm Sunday, April
8, Bhutanese authorities and police went to churches to register the
names of believers. Many pastors were detained for interrogation and
threatened with imprisonment. Other believers scattered for fear of
being identified. The campaign started last year when the government
began sending official forms to government employees and private
businesses demanding the Christians to sign agreements to comply with
"rules and regulations governing the practice of religion." Penalties
for practicing the Christian faith include no free education for
children, no free medical facilities, no promotions, and no visas for
travelling abroad, and other restrictions.
As one Bhutanese Christian says, "Very
harsh persecution has started in Bhutan. Christians are asked either
to leave their religion or leave the country. In some places they are
beaten very badly. They are not allowed to gather anymore.... Freedom
of religion has been taken away. Christians now face termination of
employment, expulsion from the country, cancellation of trade
licenses, and denial of all state benefits."
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=14284
------------------
INTERVENTION IN 2000
UN Commission on
Human Rights
Sub-Commission on
the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
UN Working Group
on Minorities
Sixth session,
20-26 May, 2000
Thank you Mr.
Chairman,
I am representing the Bhutan Women and
Children Organisation, based in exile in Nepal. We would like to
thank the UN Working group on Minorities for their 1999 statement in
support of early repatriation of Bhutanese refugees. I would like to
draw the attention of the UN Working Group on Minorities to the talks
that are planned between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan to the
situation of refugees. My intention in this intervention is to request
the assistance of the UN Working Group on Minorities to urge the
government of Bhutan for the speedy verification and repatriation of
refugees and stopping of resettlement in the land of refugees by
other communities.
Bhutan is a
multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society. There
are three main ethnic, religious and linguistic groups and a dozen
smaller groups. The Ngalung – often called Drukpas – are the ruling
group who control the monarchy and the government and dominate the
economy. The Sharchhop live in the eastern and central districts and
practice Nyingmapa sect of Mahayana Buddhism. The Bhutanese Lhotshampa
live in the southern foothill districts and practice mostly Hinduism.
I would like to draw
your kind attention to the situation of the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa
people in Bhutan and the large Lhotshampa refugee population living in
Nepal. The Royal Government of Bhutan discriminates against
Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas in all areas of social, economic and
political life at local and national levels. They are
discriminated on the basis of race, culture, language and religion,
which are different from the ruling Ngalung people.
REFUGEE AND
RESETTLEMENT
The government of
Bhutan through manipulation of various citizenship and marriage laws
has implemented discriminatory and racist policies to denationalize
more than 120,000 Lhotshampas, who comprise approximately 20 percent
of the total population of Bhutan. They have lost their right to
Bhutanese citizenship and were forcefully evicted in 1990. Most are
now living as refugees in Nepal and India.
Out of this 120,000
refugees, approximately 45,000 are children under the age of 18
living in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal since 1990. This
constitutes around 14 percent of total child population of Bhutan.
17,000 children have been born in the refugee camps in Nepal since,
1991. According to Bhutanese law, these children do not have the right
to Bhutanese nationality or the right of return to their country. All
of these refugees are anxious to be able to exercise their right –
under international law – to return to Bhutan with dignity and honour.
The Government of
Bhutan confiscated the lands owned by the Lhotshampa refugees. The
government is now resettling other groups from the north and cast of
Bhutan onto these lands in the south. This will make it very difficult
for refugees to return to the land they previously owned and has
disrupted the Lhotshampa’s cultural links to this territory. This
dislocation is a violation of the Bhutanese government’s obligation
to protect and promote the existence of the Lhotshampa’s identity
within Bhutanese territory under Article 1.1 of the UN Declaration on
…..Minorities.
DISCRIMINATION IN
EDUCATION
n 1990, the
government introduced a discriminatory rule requiring all Lhotshampa
citizens to produce a ‘No Objection Certificate’ issued by the police.
But it was virtually impossible for a Lhotshampa person to be granted
this police clearance. Without this certificate, a child cannot attend
school. As a result, no children enrolled in the schools so the
Government of Bhutan closed down all the schools in southern Bhutan.
The government thus, in effect, has denied the Lhotshampa children
access to education, violating Articles 1.2 and 4.4 of the Declaration.
In other regions, teaching in the Nepali language used by the
Lhotshampas has been banned, thus denying their rights under Article
4.3
DISCRIMINATION IN
EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS
The Lhotshampas and
other minorities are denied the right to equal employment
opportunities and equal access to trade, business and industrial
activities to enable their economic progress. Members of these groups
are discriminated against in recruitment and promotion in the civil
services and do not have access to senior government jobs. They are
not awarded government contracts or supplies. The government has
therefore failed to take appropriate measures to ensure that members
of minorities can participate fully in the economic life of the
country, as is protected under Article 4.5.
DENIAL OF CULTURAL
AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
The government
enforces a cultural policy of ‘ One Nation, One People’ and Driglam
Namzha’ is designed to undermine the distinct cultural, linguistic,
and religious identities of other minority peoples. Minorities and
denied their right to wear traditional dress – even in the home – and
are forced to keep their cut at a regulated short length. The
Sharchhops are denied their right to practice their Nyingmapa Buddhist
faith. Monks are arrested and imprisoned. These are violations of
Article 2.1 of the Declaration and of many other rights to freedom of
expression and belief.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I I suggest
the Government of Bhutan to repeal and withdraw all
discriminatory and racist policies including the Citizenship Act, 1985
and Marriage Act and take necessary measures and actions for early
repatriation of Bhutanese refugees with dignity and honour.
I
suggest the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to take active role in the repatriation of Bhutanese refugees
in Nepal.
I
suggest the Government of Bhutan to immediately decommission all
resettlement in the lands of Lhotshampa refugees
I
suggest the complete withdrawal of the Government requirement of NOC
and Police Clearance certificate for Lhotshampas in Bhutan.
I
suggest the Government of Bhutan to open all closed schools in
southern Bhutan and allow the Lhotshampa children's admission to
schools.
I
suggest the Government of Bhutan to draft and adopt a national
Constitution guaranteeing and protecting the rights of minorities and
promoting diversities.
I
suggest that government to provide open space for functioning of civil
society and promote provisions of International Human Rights standards
in the country.
I
suggest the donor countries and agencies to ensure that their aid is
utilized for the development of minority areas in Bhutan.
I
request the Chairman of Working Group on Minorities to take necessary
steps to encourage and open dialogue between the government of Bhutan
and the opposition refugee leaders in Nepal for a realistic solution
of Bhutan's political and refugee problems.
I
request the Chairman to pay a field visit to the refugee camps in
Nepal to investigate and assess the ground realities.
I suggest the forthcoming World Conference on
Racism also to address the minority problems and involve the
minorities in preparatory meetings and shaping of the agenda.
I
suggest the creation of a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee
fund for refugee minorities to enable them to travel to Geneva and
contribute to the deliberations and discussions in the Working Group
on Minorities.
President
Bhutan Women and
Children Organisation (BWCO)
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