United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received € 2 million from the European Union (EU). This amount has been provided to UNHCR to help Bhutan in resolving issues such as providing protection and sustainable solutions for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. The money will be used over a three year period from 2016 to 2019. Besides providing care to the refugees from Bhutan who have decided to stay in Nepal and not go back, UNHCR will also work to help resettle Bhutanese refugees in other third world countries.

Services including shelter, education, health, sanitation and access to sustainable energy will be provided to Bhutanese staying in Nepal. UNHCR will also work to provide social support as well as physical and legal protection to these people. The European Union has been trying to support the 17000 refugees from Bhutan living is Eastern Nepal for many years. This monetary assistance of € 2 million will help to address various kinds of problems being faced by these refugees. UNHCR is making every possible effort to help them in meeting all kinds of basic needs and to create satisfactory living conditions for them.

Out of the total 17000 of these refugees living in Beldangi and Sanischare camps in Nepal, about 11000 are expected to refuse to go back and choose to stay in Nepal. Including the refugees residing in Nepal, over 101,000 Bhutanese refugees are living in eight different third world countries. The program to help these people resettle was started near the end of 2007. UNHCR has been supporting this cause for a very long time and EU joined hands with it in 1994. The UNHCR Representative in Nepal, Mr. Craig Sanders, has expressed gratitude towards the huge contribution made by EU.