Resettlement Challenges of Bhutanese Refugees: Socio-legal Implications of the 2015 Earthquakes in Nepal

Bhutanese Refugees are languished inside the refugee camps for almost 25 years in protracted situation. In 2007, Nepal as an asylum country accepted third country resettlement by issuing exit permit to the refugees. The resettlement process raised hope of Bhutanese refugees but at the same time it generated tensions and dilemmas to them. This study focuses to examine the challenges of resettlement of Bhutanese refugees with specific attention to socio-legal research an approach of legal consciousness, within the context of additional humanitarian crisis due to the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. This study examines the shifts of legal consciousness of Bhutanese refugees and refugee agency due to the additional humanitarian crisis in Nepal. Based on the findings, this paper concludes that Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are obliged to comply with the existing laws relevant to the resettlement. The law is static and thus, they do not have influence over the existing laws as interpreted by American Legal Consciousness. The lack of proper information prior to resettlement has increased the vulnerability of Bhutanese refugees towards social exclusion in host society of destination country.