Bhutan’s Political Prisoners, Refugee Issues, Among Others Raised at UNHRC

Geneva, 25-03-2025 — The founder and global coordinator of The Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan (GCRPPB) Mr. Ram Karki, alongside GCRPPB’s Europe coordinator Mr. Gopal Gurung, delivered a 2-minute oral statement at the plenary of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 24 March 2025, during the adoption of the outcome of the 4th Universal Periodic Review of Bhutan, highlighting Bhutan’s ongoing denial of issues such as political prisoners, Bhutanese refugees and human rights violations.

The statement was delivered on behalf of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), amplifying the call for justice and accountability.

Mr. Karki emphasized that Bhutan continues to deny the very existence of political prisoners despite credible reports of arbitrary detention, inhumane prison conditions, and severe mental and physical abuse. Many prisoners suffer from chronic illnesses and remain isolated from their families, who are denied any contact or information about their loved ones.

Quoting from the statement he delivered on behalf of FORUM-ASIA: “Despite repeated denials of the existence of political prisoners, the Working Group recently determined that the continued imprisonment of three individuals constitutes arbitrary detention. The Working Group concluded that their detention is without legal basis, for exercising fundamental freedoms, in denial of their rights to a fair trial and due process, and is based on discriminatory grounds. This reflects the reality of all political prisoners in Bhutan.”

In response to Mr. Karki’s statement, the Bhutanese Ambassador denied any ethnic discrimination or the existence of political prisoners in Bhutan. He claimed that the prisoners mentioned were sentenced for “serious crimes” under Bhutanese law and dismissed the concerns raised by Mr. Karki as the work of “vested interest people” and it serving no meaningful purpose.

The statement further exposed Bhutan’s systemic discrimination against ethnic Nepali-speaking Bhutanese — including a ban on their language in schools, land seizures, erasure of cultural symbols, and revocation of citizenship, rendering many stateless. 

Bhutan rejected all 68 recommendations connected to human rights violations during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), including calls from countries like the United States, Switzerland, Canada, and Germany to release political prisoners and address ethnic discrimination.

“Bhutan’s denial of political prisoners is an insult to justice,” Mr. Karki stated. “These individuals are imprisoned for standing up for their basic rights — Bhutan must stop pretending they don’t exist and release them immediately.”

Bhutan must:

• Release all political prisoners, rehabilitate them with proper compensation, and end its denial of their existence.
  
• Allow international human rights monitors access to prisons and detention centers.
  
• Repatriate Bhutanese refugees with dignity and restore revoked citizenship.
  
• End all systematic discrimination against ethnic Nepali-speaking Bhutanese.
  
• Establish an independent national human rights commission under the Paris Principles.
  
• Resume Nepali-language education and issue tourist visas to resettled former Bhutanese refugees to visit their families.
  

We call on:

• The international community to hold Bhutan accountable for its human rights violations.
  
• UNHCR to push for renewed aid and protection for Bhutanese refugees.
  
• Bhutan’s government to acknowledge and address the reality of its political prisoners.
  

During their visit to Geneva, the GCRPPB delegation also met with high officials from the UN Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), international NGOs, and the International Red Cross. The team apprised them of the ongoing human rights issues in Bhutan, particularly the plight of political prisoners and the unresolved refugee crisis.