IOM's major Asian refugee resettlement operations in Thailand,
Malaysia and Nepal resettled nearly 11,000 refugees in the first
four months of 2010 – over 80 per cent of them to new homes
in the United States.

Of the total, some 4,550 were Bhutanese from camps in eastern
Nepal, 3,900 were Karen and Karenni refugees from Myanmar from
camps in northwestern Thailand, and the remaining 2,400 were
refugees from Myanmar living in Malaysia.

Over the period, IOM Nepal moved 3,830 Bhutanese refugees
accepted for resettlement to the US, 374 to Australia, 239 to
Canada, 108 to New Zealand, 7 to the Netherlands and 2 to
Denmark.

Almost all them were Bhutanese of Nepali origin, known as
Lhotsampas, who have lived in camps in the Jhapa and Morang regions
of Nepal for nearly two decades, following Bhutan's decision to
revoke their citizenship and expel them in the late 1980s and early
1990s.

The latest resettlement movements bring the total number of
Lhotsampas resettled to third countries by IOM to over 30,000,
since the beginning of the resettlement operation at the end of
2007. Over 70,000 remain in the Nepali camps.

IOM Thailand resettled some 3,900 refugees from Myanmar during
the first four months of 2010. Almost all were Karen and Karenni
ethnic minorities who had fled to refugee camps across the border
in northwestern Thailand to escape conflict.

Of the total, some 3,105 went to the US, 414 to Australia, 234
to Canada, 70 to the Netherlands, 36 to Sweden, 30 to Norway, 10 to
Finland, 5 to New Zealand and one each to Finland and the
UK.     

The movements brought the total number of refugees resettled by
IOM Thailand to over 78,000 since the beginning of the Thai
resettlement programme in 2004. Of these, over 61,000 came from
Myanmar. A further 15,000 were Lao Hmong.

IOM Malaysia resettled some 2,400 refugees in the first four
months of 2010. The vast majority were from Myanmar and, of the
total, 2,066 went to the US. A further 140 went to Denmark, 128 to
Australia, 22 to Canada, 17 to New Zealand, and 3 to Sweden.

The movements brought the total number of refugees resettled
from Malaysia by IOM since to beginning of the programme in 2005 to
nearly 23,000.

While IOM plays no part in selecting which refugees are accepted
for resettlement, its global responsibilities in refugee
resettlement include medical screening, pre-departure cultural
orientation and travel arrangements.

IOM's 34-year history of refugee resettlement in Asia began in
1975 in the aftermath of the Vietnam war, when it helped nearly
half a million Indochinese refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
to leave Thailand and start new lives abroad. It works closely with
host governments, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
the governments of resettlement countries.

For more information, please contact:

Chris Lom

IOM Bangkok

Tel. +66.819275215

E-mail: "mailto:clom@iom.int">clom@iom.int