Bhutan (Hansard, 12 June 1996)

§ 13. Mr. Nicholas Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights in Bhutan. [30855]

§ Mr. Hanley
We understand that the human rights situation in southern Bhutan has improved significantly in the past three years and that the flow of refugees has almost ceased.

§ Mr. Winterton
As the position of the Bhutanese and Nepalese Governments is irreconcilable, with the Government of Bhutan insisting that 99 per cent. of the refugees in the camps are not Bhutanese and the Nepalese Government insisting that they are not Nepalese and that they came from Bhutan and must go back there, how can the British Government continue to argue that the best approach to solving the problem lies in bilateral talks between the Governments of Nepal and Bhutan? What assurances can my right hon. Friend give to those refugees that they will not become stateless, which many of them fear?

§ Mr. Hanley
My hon. Friend has rightly drawn attention to a serious dilemma. We believe that bilateral negotiations offer the best solution to the problem and we will continue to encourage the Governments of Bhutan and Nepal to conduct them. We take suitable opportunities to express firmly our concern to the Bhutanese about human rights. We provide humanitarian aid to support the refugees in Nepal because they are human beings, and irrespective of the status that people might give them. We have raised the issue with the Indian Government, too, on the basis of our humanitarian concern. We will continue to encourage Bhutan and Nepal in their dialogue.

§ Mr. Ronnie Campbell
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that human rights in Bhutan and throughout the Indian sub-continent are of great concern to neighbouring countries, including those that share borders with Bhutan? One of my constituents who went to visit his family not long ago was murdered at the airport and did not even get into the country. I have already written to the Minister about that case and I hope that he will take up that abuse of the human rights of one of our passport holders.

§ Mr. Hanley
I would be grateful if the hon. Gentleman would send me the details of that case, which I do not have with me. I shall certainly look into the matter.
As for talks between Bhutan and Nepal, matters are not quite as bad as some might think. The seventh round of inter-ministerial talks took place in Kathmandu in April, and ended with an agreement to continue those talks at Thimphu, although no date was set. I hope that those next talks will help to make progress towards a lasting solution to the problem.
As to the incident to which the hon. Gentleman referred, any such case must be properly investigated independently and the guilty must be brought to justice.