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Home	ACR Weekly Newsletter Vol.1, No.4
Weekly Newsletters Main	BHUTAN: 45,000 REFUGEE CHILDREN OF THE MONARCHY
Appeal Bhutan: Child Refugees In-depth Analysis Street Children in Mongolia Featured Article Brunei: Child labour free Hari Raya What you can do Working towards a solution: Bhutanese refugee children Comments [Bhutanese Refugees in Northern Nepal]	Ethnocentric policies practiced by the Government of Bhutan have compelled more than 20 percent of its citizens to leave the country. Since 1990, over 125,000 refugees have been living in UNHCR camps in Nepal and India. Since 1991, 17,000 children have been born in Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal alone. Today, 45,000 Bhutanese children (under the age of 18) are deprived of their nationality and are compelled to live lives of refugees away from their homeland. Recent reports of 18 cases of sexual abuse and exploitation (including a 7-year-old-girl) by UNHCR aid workers in refugee camps in Nepal have raised concerns about the human rights situations in these camps. Those allegedly involved include one UNHCR staff member and aid workers from other organizations that are supported by the UNHCR. Though the 16 people found guilty of sexual abuse have been ‘punished’ and no longer work with the aid agencies, the fear remains. No one can guarantee safety to the refugee children and women who live here any longer. The situation of that Bhutanese refugee children and families are faced with is one that has been created by the Government of Bhutan because of its intolerance towards ethnic diversity among its citizens. In spite of 11 rounds of bilateral talks between the Government of Nepal and Bhutan, refugee children and families continue to face the threat of becoming stateless people. It is well within the power of the Government of Bhutan to correct this violation of human rights and rightfully accept its citizens with dignity and respect.
In-Depth Analysis [A Mongolian street child coming out of a manhole in Ullanbatar]	Street Children in Mongolia: Abandoned by the State
	Mongolia’s streets are home to 4000 children who live their lives doing anything from begging, stealing, sex work to a host of other menial tasks to stay alive. Street children are not unique to Mongolia, every other Asian country boasts of this shameful reality. However, the uniqueness of Mongolia’s street children lies in the coincidental increase in their numbers after 1990, the opening up of Mongolian markets to the world and the rise of a corrupt democratic government. Summers are good times for most children; they sleep anywhere, in the park, on the street or in the doorways of buildings. As winter approaches and the temperature drops below 40 degree Celsius, children go underground. Hot water pipes that supply central heating to apartment complexes in the cities become home to thousands of Mongolia’s children who sleep, cook, eat and take shelter from the cold here. The manholes are dark, dirty and cramped. There is also constant danger that they may burst anytime and spray scalding water on the children. Living and working in such condition it is inevitable that a large number of them are undernourished, vulnerable to illness and sexually exploited.	The situation of street children in Mongolia is not totally helpless, there are NGOs such as Save the Children, world Vision and other local organizations that have opened shelters and vocational training centers for street children. However, the government has remained far behind and lost in the race towards combating child poverty and improving the situation of its children on the streets. Though the Government of Mongolia has accepted the growing problem of street children, it does not have any comprehensive plan to combat it. It would be a reflection of sheer ignorance to say that the government does not have the capacity to improve the lives of its children. The question here is not government capacity but government priority. With a government that has newly seen the wealth that a free market economy can bring in, personal economic gain seems to be the only concern.
Featured Article	Brunei Darussalam: Government Keen on Child Labour free Hari Raya
	The Hari Raya festival, which falls on December 6^th this year, marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. However, these days also witness a steep increase in the numbers of “festive” child beggars on the streets of Brunei. The government mentioned that irresponsible parents and guardians willingly exploit children and babies to gain sympathy from the public during the celebrations. These acts not only violate children’s rights and the law of the country but also contradicted the aim of the festival. Acknowledging this problem, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, has issued a warning to parents and guardians to avoid exploiting their children for begging or other illegal activities or face stern punishment. The Children Order 2000, which governs child welfare in Brunei strictly prohibits any and every form of exploitation of children. The Government sought public cooperation to stamp out exploitation of children and report any incidents of child abuse during Hari Raya. A hotline has been set up by the government to facilitate the reporting process. It is commendable that the Government of Brunei has not only accepted the existence of the problem but has also made considerable efforts to ensure that children enjoy their rights as laid out in the UN Convention on Rights of the Child.
What you can do	Working towards a solution: Child Refugees in Bhutan
	Send an A ppeal Letter to authorities in Bhutan, Nepal, India and the UNHCR who have the power to put an end to the refugee crisis.	Update yourself with latest information on the refugee situation in Bhutan. Some reliable links are Bhutan News Online Bhutan Refugees AHRC Urgent Appeal CEMARD - Bhutan

The question here is not government capacity but government priority. With a government that has newly seen the wealth that a free market economy can bring in, personal economic gain seems to be the only concern.