Vol. 474 No. 5
21 Mr. Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the views of the Government regarding the plight of a large section of the Bhutanese population who are living in forced exile in Nepal and India; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3214/97]
I understand at present there are more than 90,000 refugees or asylum seekers from Bhutan registered in eight camps in south-east Nepal. Ireland has supported international efforts through the European Union and the United Nations to improve the situation in the camps and has also supplied some direct assistance. The International Federation of the Red Cross has recently submitted an appeal to the Department of Foreign Affairs seeking funding for a support programme for Bhutanese refugees and this appeal will be sympathetically considered.
Since 1993 seven rounds of negotiations between Bhutan and Nepal have taken place regarding these refugees and a mechanism has been agreed whereby a joint verification mission will identify certain categories of the refugees in the camps with a view to their eventual repatriation. However, I understand that negotiations are currently deadlocked. Ireland is concerned that this situation may lead to further unrest among the refugees and thereby endanger the stability achieved through development assistance programmes in the area.
I understand also that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has offered to act as a broker for negotiations between Nepal and Bhutan on this issue, but that neither side has taken up this offer. The Government, along with our partners in the European Union, will continue to monitor the situation closely.
