Nepal urged to handover Tibetan refugees to UNHCR

New Delhi:  The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today urged the Government of Nepal to hand over at least 27 Tibetan refugees to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who were detained by Nepal’s security forces on 4 October 2004. The refuges fled from Tibet and entered Nepal via Sagarmatha passage in Namche area. The detained refugees have been handed over to the district administration office on 5 October 2004 and will be handed over to Immigration Department soon. 

“Nepal must abide by its obligations under customary international law to protect the Tibetan refugees from being forcibly returned home” – stated Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

Hundreds of Tibetan refugees cross the international border to escape from persecution by the security forces in China. Many of them have been forcibly handed over to the Chinese security forces by Nepal’s border police. On 13 January 2004, three Tibetan refugees, including one minor , were handed over to Chinese border police by Nepalese officials at the

Friendship Bridge border post at Dram. There were three incidents of forcible repatriation of Tibetan refugees by Nepalese officials in 2003.

For favour of publicity

Suhas Chakma
Director

_____________________________________________________________________________________
For more information please call Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights in New Delhi, India at +91-11-25503624, 25620583