Bhutan's decision to expel US-deported individuals under its protection has been condemned as a violation of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights by activists and political parties advocating for the rights of Bhutanese refugees.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, Bhutan People’s Party Chairman Balaram Paudyal, Druk National Congress-Democratic President Rinzin Dorji, acting chair of the Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Committee Tilak Rai, Bhutan Independent People’s Forum Secretary-General DB Subba and National Reconciliation Committee Bhutan Coordinator Krishna Bir Tamang criticised Bhutan for undermining democracy and exposing its authoritarian nature.

They reiterated that third-country resettlement is not a long-term solution for Bhutanese refugees and emphasised that the only viable resolution is their dignified repatriation. The statement also urged international support to ensure refugees’ basic rights. It called for an investigation into the whereabouts of seven deported Bhutanese, as only three of the ten individuals deported from the US have been traced so far.

Among those deported, 30-year-old Ashok Gurung was detained at the Nepal-India border in Mechinagar Municipality-4 while entering Nepal from India and is being held at the Kakadbhitta Area Police Office. The status of the remaining six individuals remains unknown.

The signatories also demanded efforts to prevent Bhutanese citizens from being forced into refugee status again. They called for Bhutan to allow exiled citizens to return and reintegrate into their homeland with full rights.

A few days ago, the US deported ten Bhutanese refugees, transferring them to Bhutan via a chartered flight to Paro Airport. However, soon after US officials departed, the Bhutanese government allegedly transported them to the Indian border at midnight and abandoned them. Among them, Ashish Subedi, Roshan Tamang, and Santosh Darji reached Nepalese refugee camps, where they were subsequently taken into police custody in Jhapa.