The Supreme Court of Nepal has instructed the government to permit Bhutanese refugee children to exit the country.
The court emphasizes that administrative challenges should not hinder their legal resettlement and reunion with their parents.
The court issued a mandamus to authorities to provide exit permits for three children born at the Beldangi refugee camp in Jhapa.
This ruling followed the denial of travel documents that prevented the children from reuniting with their parents abroad.
Court Critiques Administrative Barriers
The three siblings had requested assistance from the District Administration Office in Jhapa to obtain travel documents.
However, their request was declined on the grounds that they were not registered in the refugee management information system.
Challenging this decision, the children appealed to the Supreme Court.
The court determined that the children possessed birth registration records, and DNA tests confirmed their relationship with their parents.
Their father is already resettled in the United States as a Bhutanese refugee, and their mother later joined him there.
The Supreme Court questioned the lack of action from authorities regarding their exit permit application despite the submitted documentation.
Upholding Family Rights
The Supreme Court stated that preventing refugee children from traveling to reunite with their parents could hinder their legal resettlement and violate their right to family life.
The court asserted that states should not unnecessarily block refugee family members from traveling to join their parents legally.
It also highlighted that administrative bodies cannot unreasonably obstruct refugee family members from leaving the country, provided all necessary procedures and documents are in order.
The court ruled that preventing children from traveling to be with their parents contradicts the fundamental principles of family unity and human rights protection.
Three Children Awaiting Exit Permit to Join Parents in the US
The case involves three minor children: Sonika Angari, Sandhya Angari, and Srijan Angari, all born in the Beldangi refugee camp.
Their father, Moni Kumar Angari, was resettled in the United States in 2015, while their mother, Gita Giri, traveled to the US in 2024.
The children sought permission to travel to the US to join their parents and submitted various documents, including their birth certificates, relationship documents, and DNA test results.
The Supreme Court noted that the children should not have been denied permission to exit the country at the administrative level to join their parents in the US.