The two sides discussed this in the Nepal-India joint border security meeting held on October 27, 2018 at Khakrola of Lakhimpur Kheri in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh.

The two forces decided to carefully monitor and exchange information on the movement of illegal immigrants and extremist Muslim groups in border areas.

The latest decision comes in the backdrop of evidences found by security teams of both nations over illegal entry of Rohingya refugees into Nepal through border points.

While Armed Police Force DSP Bishnu Prasad Bhatta led the seven-member Nepali delegation, the six-member delegation was led by Narayan Ram Khalaw, Deputy Commandant Of Border Security Force (3rd Battalion) based in Lakhimpur, Khiri.

Post the meeting, both the teams shared their discussion outcomes to their respective governments.

The Background
The movement of Rohingya people has been regarded as one of the world’s fast-growing refugee crisis.

Denial of citizenship by the Myanmar Government in the year 1982 left hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people, basically the Indo-Aryan speaking people in Rakhine State of Myanmar, stateless.

Eventually, they had to leave the country in search of sustainability for life.

Till date, around more than 140,000 of the total 800,000-1,100,000 Rohingyas were reportedly forced to seek refuge in displacement camps post the 2012 Rakhine State riots.

And, further to escape the violence and persecution in Myanmar, around 100,000 people have also fled the camps.

Around million Rohingyas have reportedly left Myanmar for different nations in search of shelter, including 0.7 million in Bangladesh. And, some of them entered Nepal through open border with India post the 2017 violence.

While the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees certified around 360 Rohingyas residing in two camps in Kathmandu as refugees, Nepal doesn’t accept them as refugees and considers them as illegal immigrants.

“The flow of illegal Rohingya immigrants into Nepal has lately petered out due to strict surveillance. Yet some of them may have succeeded in crossing the border clandestinely. We have directed our three security agencies to prevent them from entering Nepal,” says Ram Krishna Subedi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In contrary, UNHCR is already providing basic healthcare services to such refugees living in Nepal, alongside offering education to their kids in Kathmandu schools. The organization is currently in the process of certifying 40 more Rohingyas.

Will have to wait and see how Nepal Government will react to this contrary situation pertaining to its homeland security!

The post India, Nepal Cautious About Rohingya Refugees in Borders appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Ministry of Home Affairs enforced the ‘Foreign Citizens Monitoring Guideline’ to ensure strict monitoring of foreigners and their activities in the country.

Ensuring compliance to visa rules and curbing illegal activities are two of the key objectives of the new guidelines.

A Three-tier Monitoring
With special mechanisms across three different levels, the new regulation proposes to maintain national security and protection of boundaries, among others on top priority.

Under the guidelines, the monitoring activity will be conducted under three tiers: District Monitoring Committees, Central Monitoring Directives Committee and Monitoring & Implementation Committee.

District Monitoring Committee: Headed by Chief District Officers, this committee will foresee monitoring activities across the district levels with the support of National Investigation Department, Police & Armed Police Force, Tourism, Labor and Immigration offices.

Central Monitoring Directives Committee (CMDC): Headed by the Home Secretary, the Committee comprises of Joint Secretaries from different ministries including Home, Foreign Affairs, Labor & Employment and Tourism along with key officials from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Immigration and National Investigation departments.

Monitoring and Implementation Committee: Headed by the Director General of Immigration Department and its members along with officials from Tourism Board, among other departments, this committee will keep a close watch on illegal entry points and foreigners’ hiding zones.

Crime Control Information Mechanism: Reporting to CMDC, this special mechanism will have complete information about every foreign visitor including their places of visit, activities and duration of stay, among other key aspects.

Regulatory, Need of the Hour
The latest decision is coming in the backdrop of issues reported over misuse of visa services and local laws among foreigners.

According to the government, some of the foreign visitors on tourist visas were reportedly found to have taken up employment in the local NGOs and opened their own businesses, locally.

As the immigration officials say, there was a poor monitoring of foreign visits to the country due to lack of relevant directives and monitoring mechanisms in place.

They are hopeful that the new directives will facilitate ways for strict monitoring and special security checks upon suspicion of any illegal activity.

Under the new directives, every individual or hotels or resorts hosting foreigners will have to provide all the relevant information to the respective committees, and the immigration officers can ride any place upon suspicion, say the officials.

The new regulation calls for an immediate arrest of any foreigner misusing visa services or overstaying locally.

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