Kathmandu, Jan 13: The newly appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative in Nepal, Stéphane Jaquemet, presented the Letter of Credentials to the Nepali Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister of Nepal, Sujata Koirala yesterday.
Upon assuming office, Jaquemet said, “I am happy to be in Nepal, such a beautiful and cultured country, and work for one of UNHCR’s largest resettlement operations in the world.”
“We will continue working with the international community and the Governments of Nepal and Bhutan to find solutions for these refugees, including repatriation to Bhutan and resettlement to third countries,” said Jaquemet wrote the statement.
According to a statement issued by the UNHCR, before coming to Nepal, he served as the UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, Beirut. Having spent 17 years with UNHCR, Jaquemet has held a number of senior positions both at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva and in other UNHCR offices, including Indonesia, Togo and Croatia.
UNHCR has said, the Swiss national Jaquemet has a strong legal background, and served as Chief of Protection Capacity Section, Department of International Protection, at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva from 1997 to 2002.
Besides Bhutanese and Tibetans, UNHCR’s work in Nepal also includes providing protection and assistance to around 300 individuals from some 10 countries who have sought asylum in, helping find solutions for stateless people, and facilitating the safe transit of Tibetan new arrivals to a third country.
Since late 2007, UNHCR has helped more than 25,600 refugees from Bhutan to start new lives in the United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and New Zealand.
Jaquemet has taken his position when the former UHCR Chief in Nepal, Daisy Dell, completed her tenure from July last year. She had served the UNHCR Nepal starting from January 2007.
