South Asia

Cruel punishment: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Refugee Coordination Unit (RCU) recently stopped food distribution to 3,142 refugees in Bhutans' Jhapa refugee camps. The reason cited was violation of UNHCR rules. Nirmal Raj Khanal, head of RCU's statistics department, pointed out that the refugees had been working outside the camps without permission.

Earlier, the UNHCR had complained that the refugees were using wood for fuel, leaving the camps without permission, brewing liquor and felling trees in the nearby community forest