The resident representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Nepal (UNHCR), Abraham Abraham has said that the solution of the decade long Bhutanese refugee problem is possible only through extensive special packages.

Speaking at a programme organized to mark the UN’s 60th anniversary on Monday, Abraham said, “The government has not yet responded to our written demand that a comprehensive package be brought out to resolve the problem,” according to report.

Stating that the Bhutanese refugee issue is a temporary one, he said UNHCR is constantly helping Nepal to help prevent the refugees becoming a burden.

Earlier, some refugees have appealed to the Commission for residency status in a third country under their personal and fundamental rights, he said.

Even though the Commission has forwarded suggestions to Nepal and Bhutan, they have ignored it, he said.

Over 100 thousand Bhutanese refugees have been living in the seven camps in eastern Nepal since they were forcibly evicted from Bhutan in the early 1990s. Since 1993 there have been 15 rounds of inconclusive negotiations on repatriation between the two governments to resolve the problem.