Over 5,000 Bhutanese refugees resettled in US, Europe: UNHCR

KATHMANDU, Sept 24 - The resettlement process of the refugees from Bhutan in Nepal has kicked off with over 5,000 leaving for third countries.A total of 4,833 refugees have left for the United States, 1239 for New Zealand, 131 for Australia, 22 for The Netherlands, 19 for Norway, 16 for ...

About 3,000 refugees are likely to leave the country by the end of this year. Over 50,000 refugees have expressed interest in the  third country resettlement.

Some 107,000 refugees from Bhutan live in seven camps in eastern Nepal.

Spindler said that the resettlement programme in Nepal has been considered one of the UNHCR's largest and most promising programmes.

The UNHCR has also been advocating for the option of voluntary return to Bhutan for those refugees who wish to do so.