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EU ANNUAL REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD 2022 COUNTRY UPDATES: NEPAL

01.08.2023
Kathmandu
Press and information team of the Delegation to NEPAL

Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: 2022 was a year of elections in Nepal, with local elections in May, and federal parliamentary and provincial elections on 20 November. The elections were orderly, but there is much scope to improve inclusivity for future elections, notably through a better representation of disadvantaged communities, and enabling the voting of millions of Nepali workers abroad and millions of undocumented Nepali people inside the country.

The year was also marked by parliamentary inactivity, leaving a huge legislative backlog for after the elections. Extensive consultations and in-depth preparatory work were carried out on the Transitional Justice bill. Its swift adoption by the new parliament and subsequent implementation would be a distinctive achievement in view of the completion of the peace process.

Overall, Nepal’s human rights record remains on a positive trajectory, although - given the many challenges the country is still facing - progress remains slow. Discrimination related to caste, gender, ethnic or religious background, is the most crucial issue and together with corruption, the biggest impediment to development in Nepal.

Despite remarkable legislative achievements to ensure the rights of Dalits, discriminatory practices are still prevalent. For civil society organisations (CSOs) the applicable regulatory frameworks include various administrative hurdles imposed by federal and provincial authorities. The impacts of climate change, i.e. rapid warming in the Himalayas, pose growing problems in Nepal in the areas of health, safe water and sanitation, food, adequate housing, etc.

On a positive note, the Government of Nepal adopted the long awaited Phase II of the National Action Plan on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in August 2022. Also, Nepal registered significant progress on the World Press Index, rising from the 106th place in 2021 to the 76th in 2022.

 

2. EU action - key focus areas:

  • Protecting and empowering individuals: A project implemented with the National Human Rights Commission contributed to the protection and promotion of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) and also helped the development of a new law on HRDs.
  • Building resilient, inclusive and democratic societies: The EU Delegation organised a roundtable on the representation of marginalised and disenfranchised communities during the election process and beyond, with a focus on the Dalits.
  • Promoting a global system for human rights and democracy: The EU’s ongoing projects made use of the recommendations issued during the 2021 Universal Periodic Review of Nepal.
  • New technologies: harnessing opportunities and addressing challenges: Another roundtable on the growing phenomenon of gender-based violence (GBV) online resulted in the identification of the main issues at stake and some possible ways to tackle the matter in a more effective way.
  • Delivering by working together: The EU, Germany, Finland and France implemented programmes in the areas of gender equality and the socio-economic empowerment of women; education; water and sanitation; support to victims of conflict and of GBV; support  to HRDs; and the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, including the training of police officers. Some of these programmes were implemented jointly, in a Team Europe approach, by the EU Delegation and EU Member States’ Embassies on the ground.

3. EU bilateral political engagement: In 2022, the EU Delegation continued to play an important role as the co-chair of the International Development Partners’ Group, a member of the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Working Group, and of the Elections Working Group, as well as the chair of the Human Rights Defenders Working Group. All these mechanisms provided fora for assessing the human rights situation and following up with appropriate authorities.

The EU’s significant sector budget support operations in the country continued to enable regular policy discussions with the government, including on mainstreaming human rights across all interventions.

4. EU financial engagement: The EU’s sectoral programmes in the areas of water and sanitation, nutrition, education, green growth and local adaptation to climate change all contributed to the promotion of socio-economic rights. The ongoing federalism support programme focused on strengthening the capacities of provincial and local governments. Additionally, two new EU-funded projects were launched on an inclusive electoral reform process and for creating an enabling environment for CSOs.

5. Multilateral context: In the UN General Assembly, Nepal voted in favour of resolutions in March and October, defending the principles of the UN Charter and Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. In the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in March, Nepal supported Ukraine’s call for an urgent debate and condemning Russia’s military aggression, and also voted favourably for establishing an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate all alleged human rights violations in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. However, Nepal abstained on the vote to suspend Russia’s membership in the HRC. During the 51st session of the HRC, Nepal abstained on the country-specific resolutions addressing the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Russia, and voted against a resolution concerning a debate on human rights in Xinjiang.

 

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