Speakers during a program organized in Kathmandu on Friday pointed out that many refugees come to Nepal to take shelter in hope of protecting their life. Nepal is poor and backward country facing various problems. The refugee issue has only worsened the situation, they said.The national roundtable talk program on refugee protection was held with the aim to focus on the absence of legal policies and framework for 'Refugee Protection in Nepal'.
Even though Nepal wasn't a part of Refugee Convention 1951, it cannot send the refugees back to their home bounded by International Refugee Law, according to the organizers.
Prakash Osti, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said, "We need to find solution to any problem by formulating laws and policies."
He explained how lack of policies and legal framework has affected lives of refugees or asylum seekers. "This is an issue of human rights, and human rights and refugee issue cannot be separated," he added.
The program was organized by the INHURED International in collaboration with Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and Forum for Protection of People's Rights (PPR Nepal). Representatives and key stakeholders from United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), concerned ministries and departments, jurists and human rights advocates had participated in the program.
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