USA CONTRIBUTES $1.4 MILLION TO UNHCR’S NEPAL PROGRAMMES

[The press statement was issued by UNHCR office in Kathmandu on Friday, 17 March 2006]

KATHMANDU, 17 March (UNHCR) – The USA government has contributed USD 1.15 million towards the UN refugee agency’s 2006 Annual Budget Programme for Nepal plus USD 250,000 for support to Tibetan new arrivals in the Reception Centre in Kathmandu, bringing to a total of USD 1.4 million the US contribution to UNHCR’s programme in Nepal.

 “We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Government and people of the United States of America for this generous contribution,” said UNHCR’s Representative in Nepal, Abraham Abraham.

These contributions are part of the contribution of USD 203.8 million from the USA to UNHCR’s 2006 overall Annual Programme Budget. The USA is the refugee agency’s largest donor.

In Nepal, the refugee agency provides international protection and assistance to some 105,000 Bhutanese refugees who have been sheltering in seven camps in eastern Nepal since the early 1990’s. Despite negotiations on repatriation between the Bhutanese and Nepalese governments not a single refugee has returned.

“We strongly urge the two Governments to take bold steps in order to start implementation of solutions as agreed to between them,” said Abraham.

The refugee agency also protects and assists newly arrived Tibetans in transit in Nepal, as well as responding to the protection needs of the asylum-seekers and refugees of other nationalities in Kathmandu.
 
With a mandate to protect the world's 19.2 million refugees and other persons of concern including asylum-seekers and some internally displaced persons, UNHCR is entirely funded by direct, voluntary contributions from governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals.

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