KATHMANDU, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Country Representative of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal Daisy Dell has said that over 23,000 Bhutanese refugees have applied for third country resettlement till now, local media reported on Sunday.

    Speaking at a radio program for Bhutanese refugees, Dell said that about 25 percent of the refugees have applied at the UNHCR office for third country resettlement, a leading news website eKantipur.com reported.

    "It is the refugees' own choice. We don't encourage them for resettlement," she added.

    According to her, UNHCR has forwarded a name list of about 10,000 refugees for third country resettlement. She also said the Home Ministry last week started issuing travel documents to refugees opting for resettlement.

    Some 106,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal for the last 17 years.

    In 2006, Nepal once issued exit permits for 16 vulnerable Bhutanese refugees who were referred by UNHCR for resettlement to the U.S. and Canada for the purpose of protection. The Nepali government agreed to issue exit permits to refugees accepted for group resettlement to third countries in mid-January 2008, according to UNHCR' s website.