On March 28, 2025, pro-republic and pro-monarchy forces organised rival protests in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, to showcase public support for and against the Republic. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, about 4,000 people attended the pro-monarchy rally, while around 35,000 joined the pro-republican protest. This was the second major monarchist demonstration following a bigger rally welcoming the king back from Pokhara on March 9. Pro-monarchy forces have been increasingly active, particularly after the former king Gyanendra Shah’s provocative statement on the eve of Democracy Day (February 19).
Sensing the offense of counterrevolutionary forces, the pro-republican protest, organized under the Socialist Front, an alliance of the four opposition left parties, aimed to counter what they call reactionary and regressive forces. While the republican demonstration remained peaceful, the monarchists turned violent, vandalizing public and private property and attacking security personnel. In the aftermath, two people lost their lives, and several were injured.
The violent pro-monarchy demonstration sparked intense debate. Republicans claim the monarchists attempted to create chaos and exploit the crisis while the government also accused them of inciting violence. The monarchists, however, argue they faced suppression from the police.
Pro-monarchy protestors turn violent in Tinkune and Kathmandu. Source: Online People’s News
Recognising the impact of March 28 protests, inside and outside Nepal, the monarchists are planning nationwide protests and have already formed a joint coordination committee. Meanwhile, after the monarchists vandalised the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) [CPN (US)] headquarters and damaged properties, the Socialist Front has committed to defend the achievements of the peaceful People’s Movement of 2006, which abolished monarchy and paved the way for a socialism-oriented constitution. Uncertainty remains, but two things are evident: Monarchists are uniting and mobilising aggressively, while republican forces remain firm. This could strengthen left unity, though questions persist about division within the largest parties, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) [CPN (UML)]) and Nepali Congress (NC) on republicanism.
NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba may support the Republic, but it is an open secret that many others within his party favour Hindu nationalism and monarchy, and oppose the federal structure of Nepal. There many who question the ruling CPN (UML) asking if its top leadership is pro-monarchy, even while acknowledging that majority oppose the monarchy within the party. The fourth-largest party, the independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Kathmandu’s mayor, rapper Balen Shah, are exploiting the situation to challenge traditional parties and the current political system. There are reports that the monarchists are backed by Indian forces – the ruling regime, the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) active role in Nepal, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath – who are supporting financially, politically, and even militarily. The republicans struggle in Nepal for defending constitutional democracy will not be that easy.
Mekha Limbu(Nepal), We are on the way to death, 2012.
Historical Context and Dialectics
Nepal’s unpredictable politics cannot be understood without historical, dialectical, and global perspectives. Its geopolitical location, India-China rivalry, Hindu fundamentalism, US influence, and EU interests, the recent populist tendencies, etc. have turned Nepal into a battleground for power struggles. When leftist coalitions emerge to govern the country India in alliance with the US and right-wing forces, works to weaken them. Internal party rifts further destabilize the government. Therefore, it may be seen that all the forces within the nation and outside, will unite to weaken Nepali state and create further crisis.
Political instability has been a great challenge of Nepalese democracy. Nepal’s political instability is evident in its frequent government changes – 32 since multiparty democracy was restored in 1990, and 13 since Nepal became a republic in 2008. The current government that ruling Nepal is the 14th.
On top political instability, the republicans in Nepal underestimated the monarchy’s revival. Even leftist forces overlooked the resurgence of counterrevolutionary elements. Some self-proclaimed theoreticians focused solely on comprador bourgeoisie as the enemy of Nepal’s working class while ignoring conservatives, reactionaries, and fundamentalists. As previously noted, after overthrowing the monarchy, there was no significant effort to transform production relations in Nepal and create alternative cultural structures, leaving ample space for people to aspire for the monarchy’s return.
Mass media and social media blame top leaders Deuba, K. P. Sharma Oli, and Prachanda, who have collectively ruled for decades, for the crises. Deuba has been prime minister six times, Oli four, and Prachanda three. Other former PMs still lead parties and remain active. These aging leaders have dominated Nepal’s politics for 30 years. However, deeper systemic issues are more influential than people or parties.
Socialist Front rallies at Bhrikuti Mandap. Source: Online People’s News
Why Is This Happening in Nepal?
A.) Political Instability and Systemic Crisis
Nepal faces severe political instability, deep inequality, unemployment, slow economic growth, weak industrialisation, mass migration, poverty, food insecurity, and rising debt. Climate crises and disasters add to these challenges. Various forces exploit these crises for their interests. Government changes bring only new rulers, not solutions. People are increasingly frustrated with political parties and the system itself. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal, which established a federal democratic republic, is under threat. Federalism is criticised, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascism and populism are on the rise. Pro-monarchist forces are capitalising on this turmoil. While most acknowledge Nepal’s problems, reactionary forces blame political parties and the republican system itself. They falsely claim that restoring monarchy, re-establishing a Hindu state, and ending federalism as the solutions. It is prudent to note that many of these groups receive political and financial support from Hindutva-aligned conservatives.
B.) Failure of the Government to Deliver
The current government holds a two-thirds majority, with two parties who have been historically rivals uniting. Its failure to govern effectively is seen as proof that Nepal’s political system itself is failing. This perception fuels calls for alternative governance models, including a return to monarchy.
C.) Corruption, Bad Governance, and Impunity
Recent scandals—such as the Gold Scam, Bhutanese Refugee Scam, and Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Scam—have exposed massive corruption within the state. People now believe that no political leader is clean, as all have been in power at some point. Lack of rule of law, poor governance, and impunity for corrupt leaders have enraged the public. The perception that all top leaders are involved in scandals has made accountability almost impossible.
D.) Public Frustration and Growing Anti-Establishment Sentiment
Government failure, rising unemployment, and foreign labour migration have fuelled widespread frustration. Reactionary and populist forces frame their movements as a revolt against the political establishment. This anti-establishment sentiment explains the rise of figures like Durga Prasai and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah. Shah’s election was largely due to public anger toward traditional parties. People are increasingly rejecting established political structures, creating space for monarchists and other challengers.
Shashi Bikram Shah(Nepal), Royal Massacre Series, 2001.
E.) Lack of Development Agendas and Weak Leadership
Nepali leaders lack a vision for national development. They show little concern for public suffering, employment opportunities, or economic growth. Instead, they are focused on power, corruption, and alliances with corporate and comprador elites. Leadership incompetence is another major issue. Most leaders have failed to demonstrate effective governance. Though they may be politically experienced, they lack the ability to transform Nepal’s economy and society.
F.) Weakening of the State and Attacks on the Left
There is lot of ideological degeneration in Nepal’s Left movements as they are heavily infiltrated by conservatives. Also, political revisionism has made the Left on the whole indistinguishable from the bourgeois parties. Many leftists have abandoned class struggle, allowing right-wing forces to gain ground. Anti-communist elements are actively working to defame Nepal’s left, weakening national sovereignty and progress. A corrupt judiciary and penetrated bureaucracy further ensure that genuine reformers are isolated or sidelined. Crime networks and muscle power dominate the political scene, making systemic change difficult.
Amid this crisis, pro-monarchy conservatives and reactionaries are exploiting public frustration. While systemic failures are widely acknowledged, these groups falsely present monarchy, Hindu nationalism, and the abolition of federalism as solutions. Many suspect these efforts are backed by right-wing Hindutva groups.
Major political parties’ failure to offer a development agenda has left a vacuum that reactionary forces are filling. The 2015 Constitution, which established Nepal as a federal democratic republic, now faces threats from both political actors and street movements. Federalism is under scrutiny, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascist and populist movements are growing.
Urgent responses from the government and political parties are necessary. Nepal’s crisis is deeply systemic, with instability and foreign interference fuelling continued failure. Without addressing corruption, delivering reforms, and safeguarding democratic institutions, Nepal risks further regression. The world watches as one of the youngest republics struggles to navigate this precarious moment.
This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
On March 28, 2025, pro-republic and pro-monarchy forces organised rival protests in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, to showcase public support for and against the Republic. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, about 4,000 people attended the pro-monarchy rally, while around 35,000 joined the pro-republican protest. This was the second major monarchist demonstration following a bigger rally welcoming the king back from Pokhara on March 9. Pro-monarchy forces have been increasingly active, particularly after the former king Gyanendra Shah’s provocative statement on the eve of Democracy Day (February 19).
Sensing the offense of counterrevolutionary forces, the pro-republican protest, organized under the Socialist Front, an alliance of the four opposition left parties, aimed to counter what they call reactionary and regressive forces. While the republican demonstration remained peaceful, the monarchists turned violent, vandalizing public and private property and attacking security personnel. In the aftermath, two people lost their lives, and several were injured.
The violent pro-monarchy demonstration sparked intense debate. Republicans claim the monarchists attempted to create chaos and exploit the crisis while the government also accused them of inciting violence. The monarchists, however, argue they faced suppression from the police.
Pro-monarchy protestors turn violent in Tinkune and Kathmandu. Source: Online People’s News
Recognising the impact of March 28 protests, inside and outside Nepal, the monarchists are planning nationwide protests and have already formed a joint coordination committee. Meanwhile, after the monarchists vandalised the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) [CPN (US)] headquarters and damaged properties, the Socialist Front has committed to defend the achievements of the peaceful People’s Movement of 2006, which abolished monarchy and paved the way for a socialism-oriented constitution. Uncertainty remains, but two things are evident: Monarchists are uniting and mobilising aggressively, while republican forces remain firm. This could strengthen left unity, though questions persist about division within the largest parties, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) [CPN (UML)]) and Nepali Congress (NC) on republicanism.
NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba may support the Republic, but it is an open secret that many others within his party favour Hindu nationalism and monarchy, and oppose the federal structure of Nepal. There many who question the ruling CPN (UML) asking if its top leadership is pro-monarchy, even while acknowledging that majority oppose the monarchy within the party. The fourth-largest party, the independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Kathmandu’s mayor, rapper Balen Shah, are exploiting the situation to challenge traditional parties and the current political system. There are reports that the monarchists are backed by Indian forces – the ruling regime, the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) active role in Nepal, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath – who are supporting financially, politically, and even militarily. The republicans struggle in Nepal for defending constitutional democracy will not be that easy.
Mekha Limbu(Nepal), We are on the way to death, 2012.
Historical Context and Dialectics
Nepal’s unpredictable politics cannot be understood without historical, dialectical, and global perspectives. Its geopolitical location, India-China rivalry, Hindu fundamentalism, US influence, and EU interests, the recent populist tendencies, etc. have turned Nepal into a battleground for power struggles. When leftist coalitions emerge to govern the country India in alliance with the US and right-wing forces, works to weaken them. Internal party rifts further destabilize the government. Therefore, it may be seen that all the forces within the nation and outside, will unite to weaken Nepali state and create further crisis.
Political instability has been a great challenge of Nepalese democracy. Nepal’s political instability is evident in its frequent government changes – 32 since multiparty democracy was restored in 1990, and 13 since Nepal became a republic in 2008. The current government that ruling Nepal is the 14th.
On top political instability, the republicans in Nepal underestimated the monarchy’s revival. Even leftist forces overlooked the resurgence of counterrevolutionary elements. Some self-proclaimed theoreticians focused solely on comprador bourgeoisie as the enemy of Nepal’s working class while ignoring conservatives, reactionaries, and fundamentalists. As previously noted, after overthrowing the monarchy, there was no significant effort to transform production relations in Nepal and create alternative cultural structures, leaving ample space for people to aspire for the monarchy’s return.
Mass media and social media blame top leaders Deuba, K. P. Sharma Oli, and Prachanda, who have collectively ruled for decades, for the crises. Deuba has been prime minister six times, Oli four, and Prachanda three. Other former PMs still lead parties and remain active. These aging leaders have dominated Nepal’s politics for 30 years. However, deeper systemic issues are more influential than people or parties.
Socialist Front rallies at Bhrikuti Mandap. Source: Online People’s News
Why Is This Happening in Nepal?
A.) Political Instability and Systemic Crisis
Nepal faces severe political instability, deep inequality, unemployment, slow economic growth, weak industrialisation, mass migration, poverty, food insecurity, and rising debt. Climate crises and disasters add to these challenges. Various forces exploit these crises for their interests. Government changes bring only new rulers, not solutions. People are increasingly frustrated with political parties and the system itself. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal, which established a federal democratic republic, is under threat. Federalism is criticised, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascism and populism are on the rise. Pro-monarchist forces are capitalising on this turmoil. While most acknowledge Nepal’s problems, reactionary forces blame political parties and the republican system itself. They falsely claim that restoring monarchy, re-establishing a Hindu state, and ending federalism as the solutions. It is prudent to note that many of these groups receive political and financial support from Hindutva-aligned conservatives.
B.) Failure of the Government to Deliver
The current government holds a two-thirds majority, with two parties who have been historically rivals uniting. Its failure to govern effectively is seen as proof that Nepal’s political system itself is failing. This perception fuels calls for alternative governance models, including a return to monarchy.
C.) Corruption, Bad Governance, and Impunity
Recent scandals—such as the Gold Scam, Bhutanese Refugee Scam, and Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Scam—have exposed massive corruption within the state. People now believe that no political leader is clean, as all have been in power at some point. Lack of rule of law, poor governance, and impunity for corrupt leaders have enraged the public. The perception that all top leaders are involved in scandals has made accountability almost impossible.
D.) Public Frustration and Growing Anti-Establishment Sentiment
Government failure, rising unemployment, and foreign labour migration have fuelled widespread frustration. Reactionary and populist forces frame their movements as a revolt against the political establishment. This anti-establishment sentiment explains the rise of figures like Durga Prasai and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah. Shah’s election was largely due to public anger toward traditional parties. People are increasingly rejecting established political structures, creating space for monarchists and other challengers.
Shashi Bikram Shah(Nepal), Royal Massacre Series, 2001.
E.) Lack of Development Agendas and Weak Leadership
Nepali leaders lack a vision for national development. They show little concern for public suffering, employment opportunities, or economic growth. Instead, they are focused on power, corruption, and alliances with corporate and comprador elites. Leadership incompetence is another major issue. Most leaders have failed to demonstrate effective governance. Though they may be politically experienced, they lack the ability to transform Nepal’s economy and society.
F.) Weakening of the State and Attacks on the Left
There is lot of ideological degeneration in Nepal’s Left movements as they are heavily infiltrated by conservatives. Also, political revisionism has made the Left on the whole indistinguishable from the bourgeois parties. Many leftists have abandoned class struggle, allowing right-wing forces to gain ground. Anti-communist elements are actively working to defame Nepal’s left, weakening national sovereignty and progress. A corrupt judiciary and penetrated bureaucracy further ensure that genuine reformers are isolated or sidelined. Crime networks and muscle power dominate the political scene, making systemic change difficult.
Amid this crisis, pro-monarchy conservatives and reactionaries are exploiting public frustration. While systemic failures are widely acknowledged, these groups falsely present monarchy, Hindu nationalism, and the abolition of federalism as solutions. Many suspect these efforts are backed by right-wing Hindutva groups.
Major political parties’ failure to offer a development agenda has left a vacuum that reactionary forces are filling. The 2015 Constitution, which established Nepal as a federal democratic republic, now faces threats from both political actors and street movements. Federalism is under scrutiny, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascist and populist movements are growing.
Urgent responses from the government and political parties are necessary. Nepal’s crisis is deeply systemic, with instability and foreign interference fuelling continued failure. Without addressing corruption, delivering reforms, and safeguarding democratic institutions, Nepal risks further regression. The world watches as one of the youngest republics struggles to navigate this precarious moment.
The post Challenges to Nepal’s Republican Structure from Monarchists and Why? first appeared on Dissident Voice.
New York, March 19, 2024—Nepali authorities must swiftly and impartially investigate the attack on journalist Padam Prasad Pokhrel and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.
On the evening of February 28, up to 15 police officers attacked Pokhrel, editor-in-chief of the news website Pranmancha, while the journalist was filming officers allegedly displacing street vendors by force in the Sundhara area of the capital Kathmandu, according to local advocacy groups Media Action Nepal and Freedom Forum, as well as a statement by the Working Journalists Association of Nepal, reviewed by CPJ.
Pokhrel was filming a baton charge by the Kathmandu metropolitan police when the officers surrounded him, beat him with batons, and kicked him for around ten minutes, he told CPJ, adding that he shouted that he was a journalist and displayed his press identification card. The journalist told CPJ that officers confiscated his phone, camera, and laptop, along with other items worth around 11,000 rupees (US $82) that he purchased earlier that day.
Pokhrel said officers then dragged him into a vehicle and continued to beat him for around 15 minutes until they reached a local police station, where he was left outside and later taken to the hospital by officers with the Nepal central police force. Pokhrel said he was treated at the National Trauma Center for a torn ligament in his right leg and significant bruising and muscle pain throughout his body.
“Nepali authorities must complete a credible and transparent investigation into the assault on journalist Padam Prasad Pokhrel and return any items seized during the attack,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The public has a right to be informed about police violence in their communities, and journalists must be able to cover such incidents without fear of reprisal.”
Following protests by local journalists, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City administration appointed an investigative committee to probe the incident and told the journalist that the findings would be revealed on Friday, March 22, Pokhrel said.
Authorities returned Pokhrel’s phone on Monday but said they were unaware of the location of his other items, the journalist told CPJ.
CPJ called and messaged Bhim Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson of the Nepal Police; Dinesh Mainali, spokesperson of the Kathmandu metropolitan police; and Pradip Pariyar, chief administrative officer of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City administration, but did not receive a response.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
On 15 January 2024, Amnesty International announced that five courageous human rights defenders from around the world have shared their hard-hitting stories on its new podcast: ‘On the Side of Humanity. How human rights defenders fight for our present and future’.
The three-part series was released to mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. The documentary explores how the human rights movement has evolved since the adoption of the watershed declaration.
In the podcast, Amnesty International’s Tatyana Movshevich discovers the story behind the declaration and meets brave activists from Chile, the USA, Nepal, Ireland and Ghana, all of whom have been fighting for the rights of marginalized people — and risking their lives in the process.
“Every day, human rights defenders are risking their lives, sometimes at a significant personal cost. They experience violence and discrimination simply for defending the rights of others,” said Tatyana Movshevich, Amnesty International’s Campaigner.
“For this podcast I have interviewed five incredible human rights defenders and it was inspiring to hear about their work, but also distressing to realise the enormous dangers they are facing. During our interview, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a journalist from Ghana, told me a chilling story of how his investigation into killings linked to ritual magic in Malawi had gone terribly wrong. And it was not the only time when Anas found himself in mortal danger because of his human rights work. Far from it.”
Every day, human rights defenders are risking their lives, sometimes at a significant personal cost.Tatyana Movshevich, Amnesty International’s Campaigner
Others featured in the podcast include Lorena Donaire, a water defender from Chile whose life was turned upside down as she was tackling the catastrophic results of a mega-drought; Monica Simpson, a queer activist and artist from the USA and Durga Sob, a Dalit woman and Nepalese feminist activist, who have both been confronting long-ignored issues of racism and caste-based discrimination; and Sean Binder, a migrant rights defender from Ireland whose freedom was compromised while he was volunteering on an idyllic Greek island. [see lso: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2021/11/17/greeces-mistaken-deterrence-migrants-and-aid-workers-facing-heavy-prison-sentences/]
International experts that took part in the series include Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, and Hina Jilani, women rights activist and co-founder of Pakistan’s first all-women law firm.
The podcast is out now and available to stream on Spotify, Apple, Google and Deezer.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
Workers contracted to work for western brands in Saudi Arabia have described conditions as ‘like jail’
- Revealed: Amazon linked to trafficking of workers in Saudi Arabia
- Corporations are paying for worker abuse audits that are ‘designed to fail’, say insiders
- McDonald’s and Amazon’s ties to alleged labor trafficking: five key takeaways
Over the years the world’s most powerful fast-food chain, McDonald’s, has twice honored a Saudi prince’s business empire with its highest accolade for its franchisees: the Golden Arch award.
Prince Mishaal bin Khalid al-Saud – who controls more than 200 McDonald’s outlets across Saudi Arabia – told CEO Magazine in 2018 that one of the secrets of his enterprise’s success is “ensuring a positive and favorable environment for our employees”.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Foreign workers at the Middle East locations of US and UK brands allege low pay, harsh conditions and a legal limbo with few protections
- Revealed: Amazon linked to trafficking of workers in Saudi Arabia
- McDonald’s and Chuck E Cheese tied to alleged foreign worker exploitation
- Corporations are paying for worker abuse audits that are ‘designed to fail’, say insiders
Today the Guardian has published an investigation into labor conditions at the Persian Gulf locations of major US and UK brands, including Amazon, McDonald’s and the InterContinental Hotels Group.
Almost 100 current and former migrant laborers spoke to reporters, and many claimed they were misled into taking poorly paid jobs, subject to extortionate and arbitrary fees, or had their passports confiscated. These practices are broadly considered to be indicators of labor trafficking.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
This content originally appeared on Human Rights Watch and was authored by Human Rights Watch.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
See original post here.
(New York) – Nepal’s newly elected government should prioritize coverage for all children and add coverage for millions of informal workers as it considers changes to the existing system, Human Rights Watch said today. Nepal’s social protection system fails to effectively protect children from poverty and reinforces inequalities between informal and formal workers.
Governments have an obligation to protect everyone’s rights to social security and an adequate standard of living. A universal approach to social protection, with benefits available to the entire population, fulfills that requirement, can strengthen public support for programs, and help build a strong social contract. Yet, in the past years the government of Nepal has taken steps attempting to target social protection at people in poverty, which can be counterproductive, preventing at-risk households from exercising their right to social security, Human Rights Watch found. Targeted programs are often too narrow; selection processes are costly, inaccurate, and can be prone to corruption; and many eligible people find it hard to apply or don’t apply due to the stigma.
“Nepal has made important strides in expanding social protection, but large groups, particularly children and informal workers, are being left behind,” said Lena Simet, senior economic justice researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Investing in social protection for everyone is crucial to protect people’s rights and to enhance the country’s economic well-being.”
In July 2022, Human Rights Watch examined the state of the social security system in Nepal, discussing policies with ministries involved in planning reforms as well as a municipal social security office implementing the current policies. Human Rights Watch also reviewed household data collected by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); interviewed 18 people about their experiences requesting or receiving social security; and consulted 16 experts, activists, social workers, and nongovernmental groups that work with people in need of assistance.
The shortcomings became particularly visible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most people interviewed did not receive any form of social protection or relief during Covid-19-related lockdowns, reducing their ability to meet everyday expenses. The lack of resources led people to cut back on food, remove children from school, omit medical procedures, and take on debt.
A 38-year-old woman who lives with her two children in Chapagaun said, “during Covid, the only meal I could afford for my children [aged 2 and 3 at the time] was wheat mixed with water. I fed them this instead of milk.” A 27-year-old woman who makes and sells handbags for a living said she tried to distract her two children from their hunger. “I sent them outside to play so they would forget about food.”
Social security is a human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Countries should guarantee protection to everyone, particularly in the event of unemployment, parenting and other caregiving responsibilities, accident, illness, disability, old age, or other life circumstances. The right to social security is also recognized in the Nepali Constitution of 2015.
Yet, children and informal workers are largely invisible to Nepal’s social protection system, Human Rights Watch found. Despite United Nations and academic studies showing the positive effects of unconditional cash transfers to families on child nutrition, child labor, poverty, and future productivity, the government has been slow in expanding income support for children and their families. While 40 percent of Nepal’s population is under age 18, in 2020 children received just 4.1 percent of the social protection budget. In 2022, the Child Grant, Nepal’s main income support program for families, covered only about 40 percent of children under age 5 and just 9.5 percent of all children in the country. Payments are set at NPR 532 (US$4) per month, the lowest of all benefits.
Most social protection is tied to formal employment, though according to Nepal’s latest labor force survey in 2017/18, 84.6 percent of the total working population and 90.5 percent of women workers are engaged in informal work. This system reinforces inequality as workers in the informal sector are more prone to experiencing poverty as earnings are low, employment is unstable, and labor protections, such as the minimum wage, are not enforced. The absence of social protection further exposes them to the harmful effects of emergencies, social and economic shocks, and unpredictable crises like the Covid-19 pandemic, which left many workers unable to earn an income.
In general, the exclusion of informal workers from social protection contravenes international human and labor rights standards and is also likely to undermine economic recovery, Human Rights Watch said. The government should allow informal workers to register with local authorities, offering them access to relief in crises and ensuring their gradual inclusion in the social security system.
Human Rights Watch identified additional barriers that prevent families, informal workers, and other people in Nepal from enjoying their right to social security, contributing to the low social protection coverage rate of just 17 percent.
Eligibility for social protection is tied to citizenship laws, which leave an estimated 6.7 million people – more than a quarter of the population – effectively stateless and ineligible for social security. The high share of people without citizenship certificates results from longstanding discriminatory provisions that make it harder for Nepali women to obtain citizenship certificates for their children than for men, leaving many children of single mothers excluded.
Another barrier is the stigma associated with requesting government support. Many women, especially from Dalit and Muslim communities, report fear of discrimination. Actions by the government contribute to perceptions of stigma, according to officials interviewed by Human Rights Watch, such as publishing the names of people who receive social security or encouraging people to give up social security benefits in exchange for a “certificate of honor.” Targeting social protection more at the poorest households may appear to be the right strategy when financial resources are limited. Yet, it has high administrative costs and is much less effective than universal benefits in reaching the poorest households, so can create further barriers for people to enjoy their right to social security.
Instead of spending scarce government resources on a costly poverty targeting bureaucracy, the government should ensure that everyone can enjoy their rights, including all children and informal workers. Doing so is financially feasible. According to a 2021 UNICEF study, expanding the child grant to all children up to the age of 17 by 2035 would cost less than 0.7 percent of GDP a year. The implications for people’s economic and social rights would be significant. Family poverty could drop by as much as 16.8 percent, enabling families to afford better nutrition, healthcare, and education.
Global contributions, such as from a proposed Global Fund for Social Protection, could help finance the gaps emerging in the start-up period of a new or extended social protection program, and in times of crisis. However, domestic financing is critical for a social protection system’s long-term sustainability, and Nepal’s policy of meeting social protection expenditure from domestic revenues is correct. The government should take steps to mobilize domestic resources to progressively attain universal social protection by reforming its tax system. Nepal has a tax-to-GDP ratio below the 20 percent ratio recommended by the UN as a minimum level to meet development goals.
“An inclusive social protection system is key for any rights-respecting economy and underpins building a strong social contract,” Simet said. “Realizing everyone’s right to social security, not just those in formal employment, is vital. This has never been clearer than in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, where countries with inclusive social security systems were better equipped to cope with the crisis.”
Methodology
This research builds on a 2021 Human Rights Watch report on the rise in child labor and poverty in Nepal during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the pandemic’s impact on children’s rights in the absence of adequate social protection.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 18 people in Kathmandu, Dhulikhel, and Chapagaun in July 2022. Researchers spoke with families who received the child grant, people who applied unsuccessfully for social security during the Covid-19 pandemic, and people who said they did not apply for benefits due to fear of being stigmatized.
Human Rights Watch also met with three local activists who work on human rights, economic justice, and citizenship rights; four Nepali social protection and sustainable development organizations, including the Child Workers at Nepal Concerned Centre and the National Campaign For Sustainable Development; and the General Federation of Nepali Trade Unions and five international organizations, including the World Bank Group and United Nations agencies.
Human Rights Watch visited a center created by HomeNet Nepal, which provides a safe space for women experiencing economic hardship or domestic violence. Researchers also met with organizations running feeding programs, including the Sikh Gurdwara and Pashupatinath Temple. Saroj Acharya from the Social Protection Civil Society Network provided input and comment on the research.
Human Rights Watch spoke with three federal government offices: the National Planning Commission; Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security; and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, and with the social security office at Dhulikhel municipality.
Poverty and Inequality in Nepal
In 2019, the government and the UN estimated that at least 17.4 percent of the Nepali population lived in multidimensional poverty under an international standard involving a range of factors such as health, education, and standard of living. Women, children, and people with disabilities were most likely to live in poverty. One in three children under age 5 was stunted by malnutrition; the share is 44 percent among children living in poverty. In June 2020, UNICEF estimated that nearly 10 million children lived in poverty, with more facing multidimensional poverty.
A 2019 study by Oxfam International and HAMI, a Nepali nonprofit organization, found income and wealth inequality to be high and growing in Nepal, with discrimination against women, corruption, low-quality public services, and a regressive tax system as key drivers of inequality.
The Covid-19 pandemic, and particularly the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus, caused substantial job and income losses, contributing to increases in poverty. Recovery has been uneven; by the end of 2021, nearly a fifth of jobs lost had yet to be recovered, with workers in agriculture and lower-income occupations recovering more slowly.
In 2021, Human Rights Watch found that the economic impact of the pandemic, together with school closures and insufficient social protection, pushed children into exploitative and dangerous child labor. Many children felt they had no choice but to work to help their families survive. In 2021, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned that the lack of access to social security and quality public services would not only have life-long negative implications for individuals but could also have irreversible adverse effects on Nepal’s economy.
UN data suggest that economic hardship remained high in 2022. Thirty percent of families that responded to a 2022 UNICEF survey said they needed financial assistance to meet living expenses and 20 percent said they struggle for food daily because of the lack of money and rising prices. Seven percent had reduced food for their children, 8 percent sent their child to work to help make ends meet, 12 percent had sold assets and 27 percent took on debt to pay for food, healthcare, and education.
Several people interviewed said they struggled every day to make ends meet, especially after increases in food and energy prices that contributed to indebtedness. People said they borrowed from relatives, employers, or local loan cooperatives, often at high interest rates. A man from the marginalized Dalit community who lives with his wife, two children, and mother in a tin shack along a main road in Dhulikhel, said: “The only way to do this [survive] is to buy food with credit at shops. You pay it back when you get a little bit of money. We worry.” His current debt with a loan cooperative is about NPR 260,000 ($2,000), at a 24 percent interest rate. He said he had to bribe the loan officer to issue the loan.
A daily laborer who lives with his wife and four adult sons in a shack on public land in the Dhulikhel municipality said life was particularly difficult in the monsoon season, when work availability is unpredictable. He regularly borrows money to make ends meet. His current debt is about NPR 392,000 ($3,000). He hasn’t been able to pay the loan nor interest for more than a year, which will force his family into further debt.
Others said they could not afford to keep their children in school. A 36-year-old farmer, who had just moved from the Terai southern planes to Kathmandu to work as a street cobbler, said his four children in his home village are out of school. “After primary school, it got too expensive.” During the pandemic, he borrowed NPR 50-60,000 ($380-460) from informal money lenders to feed his family and pays NPR 1,500 ($11.50) in interest every month. A 38-year-old woman teared up as she said that her then 12-year-old son had been out of school for two years because she couldn’t afford the fees.
Social Protection
Nepal was one of the early initiators of social protection in South Asia. In 1994, an old age allowance was introduced with a small monthly cash transfer to citizens aged 75 and above. Both coverage and the transfer amount have gradually increased since. Today, a near-universal social pension for older people is a core pillar of Nepal’s social protection system, a widely popular and successful policy.
The 2015 constitution gives social protection a high priority. Article 34 on the right to labor recognizes the right of every worker to contribute to a social security system. Article 43 sets out the right to social security to:
groups deemed to be the indigent citizens, incapacitated and helpless citizens, helpless single women, citizens with disabilities, children, citizens who cannot take care themselves and citizens belonging to the tribes on the verge of extinction shall have the right to social security, in accordance with law.
Special opportunities and benefits in social security, education, health, housing, food, and employment are also to be extended to “indigent citizens and citizens of the communities on the verge of extinction” under article 42 on the right to social justice. The constitution also recognizes a series of other social and economic rights, including the right to education in article 31, the right to health in article 35, the right to food in article 36, and the right to housing in article 37. The government has also committed to achieve 80 percent coverage by 2030.
But implementation of social protection is highly fragmented and managed through several public agencies, which the government and the UN acknowledge is a major problem. The ad hoc nature of programs, poor agency capacity, the mismanagement of funds, and inequity in program design and implementation compound the problem.
In 2018, the government passed a Social Security Act to provide the legal framework for social insurance programs and the application process. But the act failed to specify the nature of documentation required to obtain an identity card, except the need to show birth registration in applying for child grants. Neither does the act spell out the role of provincial and local governments in administering allowances.
In 2022, the government approved an Integrated National Framework on Social Protection to make the social protection system more coordinated and universal. The framework calls on all actors, including the UN and international development agencies, to work closely together to make the system work.
Plans to Increase Poverty Targeting
In 2016, the government took a $150 million World Bank loan to strengthen social protection and develop a “social registry” database to collect household level socioeconomic data and determine poverty using an algorithm based on a proxy means test. The test is part of the government’s “Poor Household Identification Program,” and estimates wealth using more than 40 criteria, including a household’s level of education, floor or roof material, ownership of durable assets, such as a television or refrigerator, and livestock. The criteria are then weighed and ranked to determine whether a household is deemed “poor” or “non-poor.”
Government officials interviewed affirmed that the administration’s focus is on targeting the poorest people for benefits. Research by the ILO and Development Pathways suggests that targeting methods like the proxy means test are highly inaccurate and fall short in identifying beneficiaries, partly because the data quickly become outdated, and because of rigid or exclusionary eligibility criteria. This leads to high exclusion rates and a lack of trust by people who are left out. The attempt to build a social registry, launched in 2016, is not yet complete, although much data already gathered will be out of date.
A previous attempt to target the poorest people in Nepal also failed. In 2012, the government introduced a poverty-targeted program to identify households with very low incomes and provide them with identity cards offering benefits, including discounts on education, health facilities, transport, and food. In 2019, cards had been distributed to only 10 percent of eligible households.
Human Rights Watch reviewed the 2022 list of poor households in Dhulikhel Municipality, which the local government produced based on the 2020 Poor Household Identification Survey. According to the list, only 4.36 percent of Dhulikhel’s population is considered “poor,” a fraction of the people estimated to live in multidimensional poverty before the pandemic.
Excluding people from benefits they are entitled to can destroy trust in government and appear arbitrary or corrupt to people. Kumar Parajuli, 56, a resident of Dhulikhel, unsuccessfully tried to get support from his local government office during the pandemic but said that only some eligible people got help. “Only clever and sly people got support and food relief,” he said. “It’s a daily survival thing. When you’re poor, people look down on you, you don’t have influence… If there’s no-one powerful speaking on your behalf, access [to benefits] is impossible.” He took on debt for food and medical bills, amounting to NPR 392,000 ($3,000).
In contrast, universal benefits can create a positive impression of government and, over time, strengthen the social contract between the state and its population.
Overview of Main Social Protection Programs
Nepal’s social protection system comprises contributory social insurance for formal sector workers, noncontributory social assistance, and employment programs.
The main contributory social insurance schemes are the Social Security Fund (SSF) for formal private sector workers and the Employees’ Provident Fund for public sector employees. Only formal sector employees can contribute and are eligible to receive benefits from the funds. Benefit amounts are significantly higher than those provided through the noncontributory system.
The noncontributory side of the system is meant to support “the most vulnerable groups of the population,” but constitutes the only available programs to those outside formal employment. It is composed of multiple social assistance programs, which are mostly administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). Programs includes the Old Age Allowance, Single Women Allowance, Endangered Ethnicity Allowance, Disability Allowances, and the Child Grant. Coverage rates are low, with social pensions having the highest coverage rate.
In the Dhulikhel municipality for example, 3,001 people – 9.3 percent of the population (32,162 people) – received some form of social assistance in 2021/22. Seventy percent of the benefits were provided to older people, and 5 percent of benefits to children.
The existing system works best for those who work in the formal sector and are generally better off, with the wealthiest 20 percent receiving the largest share – 34.7 percent – of benefits and social protection spending, compared to 21.9 percent for the lowest 20 percent. Making social protection more universal could significantly reduce poverty and inequality. A 2022 simulation by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the United Nations University estimates that it would reduce the poverty headcount by 64 percent.
According to ILO estimates, approximately 17 percent of the population are protected by at least one social protection benefit, and the share of vulnerable persons covered is only 14.8 percent. Several barriers prevent people from enjoying their right to social security and contribute to the low coverage rates. Some of these barriers are discussed below.
Barriers to Equitable Social Protection
No Income Support for Most Children
Research published in Archives of Public Health on the Karnali region where the Child Grant was first rolled out found it improved food security and health. It also enhanced the public’s perception of the government. In a survey of 2,040 households, the Oversees Development Institute found that 93 percent of beneficiaries believed the government cared about their socioeconomic well-being, with 85 percent reporting an improved opinion of the government owing to the program.
Despite the program’s positive effects, only about 40 percent of children nationally up to age 5 years receive the grant, and a mere 9.5 percent of all children under 18. In tears, a 14-year-old girl told Human Rights Watch she was afraid she would have to drop out of school because her family had fallen behind on school fees for her and her younger brother. She sells balloons in Kathmandu’s central square to help her mother pay for daily expenses. Only one family out of 16 interviewed by Human Rights Watch had received the Child Grant for one of their two children. Although the family noted the low benefit amounts, they said they used the money to help meet the costs of lunch for both children.
Programs benefitting children, such as the Child Grant, should be expanded nationwide and provided with more funding. According to a 2021 UNICEF study, if all children in Nepal up to the age of 17 received a small inflation-adjusted child benefit of NPR 430 ($3.30) per month by 2035, incrementally increasing from an initial age eligibility of children under 5, family poverty could be cut by as much as 16.8 percent and it would cost less than 0.7 percent of GDP a year.
Informal Workers Excluded from Social Insurance
Nepal’s contribution-based social security programs, which receive the largest share of the national social protection budget, do not extend to informal workers, who constitute 84.6 percent of the working population. In 2020, social insurance – primarily public sector pensions for public and formal private sector workers – took up 56 percent of the budget while noncontributory social assistance programs received 41 percent.
In 2021, the country’s largest trade unions asked the government to ensure that informal workers are also protected under this program. A news report quoted the leader of the Central Union of Painters, Plumbers, Electro and Construction Workers-Nepal as saying that “[T]he government should declare a package for informal sector workers in the annual budget, announcing that the 20 percent amount, which is being paid by employers, will be borne by the government.”
Given that informal workers often have lower wages than formal sector workers, their exclusion from social insurance reinforces inequalities. The government should adjust and expand the Social Security Fund to include informal workers.
A 38-year-old woman in Chapagaun said that she worries about getting older and not receiving government support because both she and her husband are informal workers: “We can’t retire. To survive, we have to work until we die. Once we close our eyes forever, we may receive retirement.”
The Citizenship and Identify Card Requirement
A 2015 study by the Forum for Women, Law and Development projected that 6.7 million people, about 23 percent of the population, lacked citizenship certificates in 2021. Since all social protection programs require citizenship, or a birth certificate in the case of child benefits, people without are excluded from social security.
While the child of a Nepali man is automatically entitled to citizenship, a Nepali woman must prove that the child’s father is Nepali or declare that he is “unidentified.” If such a declaration is proved to be false, the woman would face prosecution. This makes the children of single mothers particularly vulnerable to statelessness and denies them access to government entitlements and services.
Other people are also affected. A 76-year-old man, who works in Kathmandu’s central square offering to weigh people for a few rupees, said he doesn’t receive the old age allowance because of problems with his citizenship paperwork. “If I got the old age allowance, I wouldn’t have to work,” he said. “I’d stay home and spend time with my grandchildren.” On a good day, he makes about NPR 100 (77 US cents). On a bad day, he borrows money from friends and family.
In 2022, the parliament passed a new citizenship bill, but it fell short of providing documentation to everyone in Nepal and was not endorsed by the president. Setting up alternative identity verification mechanisms to ensure that potential beneficiaries can access their entitlements should be a priority of government at all levels.
Government Practices Create Stigma
Stigma attached to receiving government assistance in Nepal deters people from applying for social protection. Would-be recipients interviewed by Human Rights Watch, as well as members of civil society and government officials, said that stigma was a major reason that people do not apply. Some government practices directly foster stigma, including presenting benefits as “charity” or “handouts” rather than rights, the public release of lists of people who receive benefits, and encouragement to voluntarily renounce social security benefits in exchange for honorific recognition by the local government in the form of a certificate.
A social security officer of the Dhulikhel municipality said that his office posts the names of people who receive benefits online and on lists displayed at government buildings to increase transparency and reduce corruption. However, this deters people from accessing their right to social security as they do not want others to know they receive government support.
A 39-year single mother who lives with her 9-year-old son and her parents on the outskirts of Dhulikhel said she never applied for government support, even when her son complains about hunger. “I don’t ask because it’s embarrassing and humiliating, especially if I would return empty-handed.” She sometimes skips meals to give him food.
Unclear Government Responsibilities
Since 2015, Nepal has been transitioning from a centralized to a federal system of governance, which may create the basis for a more responsive system to protect people from poverty. However, Nepal’s decentralization process has lacked clarity about the responsibilities of different levels of government in providing social protection. Whether a beneficiary can exert their right to social security often depends on local and provincial governments’ capacity and willingness to invest in social protection. Some local governments created systems to overcome barriers related to lacking identity cards, while others have failed to provide social protection for eligible and registered beneficiaries.
The constitution lacks clarity on these responsibilities. It simultaneously provides both that social security and alleviating poverty are the sole responsibility of the federal government and that these responsibilities are to be shared by the federal, provincial, and local governments. Yet the country has not promulgated federal laws setting the criteria for provincial and local roles, hindering provinces from proceeding with their own legislation.
The federal government should consult with provincial and local governments to design and carry out social protection programs and reconcile legal ambiguities that prevent people from accessing social security.
International Human Rights Obligations
Establishing a well-designed social protection system fulfills an important human rights obligation and creates a powerful tool to help reduce poverty and economic inequality. The right to social security is enshrined in both the UDHR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. It is key to securing other economic and social rights, in particular the right to an adequate standard of living, which includes the rights to food and to adequate housing.
The right to social security, including various forms of social protection, is also protected under other international human rights treaties to which Nepal is a party, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 26), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (articles 11 and 14), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (article 28).
Social protection is also key to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG Target 1.3 in particular calls on countries to “[i]mplement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.”
Making the right to social security a reality for all is first and foremost the duty of domestic governments. However, international human rights law also establishes an obligation of international assistance and cooperation on governments to help all countries fulfil these rights.
Recommendations
- The federal government should avoid “poverty targeting” and the use of “social registries,” which are costly, ineffective, and frequently exclude those who are most in need of social protection.
- The federal government should expand programs benefitting children, such as the Child Grant and midday meals, nationwide and provide them with more budgetary support.
- The federal government should expand the Social Security Fund to actively encompass informal workers.
- All levels of government should refrain from actions that reinforce stigma attached to receiving government assistance.
- Until the lack of citizenship certification can be addressed, the government should prioritize creating alternative identity verification systems to ensure that potential beneficiaries can access their entitlements.
- The federal government should consult with provincial and local governments to design and put into effect social protection programs and to reconcile legal ambiguities that prevent people from accessing social security.
- Provincial governments should consider and advance policies that would expand social protection coverage within their provinces.
- All levels of government should work to ensure that all fundamental economic and social rights, including the right to social security and to an adequate standard of living, are recognized and secured as rights of everyone in Nepal.
This post was originally published on Basic Income Today.
New York: As part of the 11th Interfaith Holiday Celebration, the South Asian Community Outreach (SACO) – a not-for-profit organization brought together South Asians under one roof in New Jersey.
SACO organized a grand ceremony in honor of the guests in a local hall, which was also graced by US officials with their presence.
The 11th Interfaith Holiday Celebration of South Asia Community Outreach started with the National Anthem of the United States of America.
After which SACO President Nilesh Dasondi and Chairman Sam Khan welcomed the guests and thanked the attendees for making the event a success.
They said that the New York Police Department’s (NYPD’s) Muslim Officers Society (MOS) paid a detailed visit to Pakistan and helped the flood victims. The local people not only appreciated this great humanitarian gesture but a short documentary film based on their tour of duty was also shown.
Guests were invited on stage to raise their hands to light the candle of unity
People belonging to different religions offered prayers according to their religious beliefs.
SACCO also conferred awards upon those who have rendered services to South Asian communities and other issues.
South Asian Community Outreach’s Interfaith Holiday Celebration also featured South Asian music. The singers danced and the expert dancers gave a great performance.
A sumptuous dinner was also given to the guests by SACO. South Asian Community Outreach has been bringing communities together every year for 11 years to convey the message that development depends on unity.
The post 11th Interfaith Holiday Celebration, SACO brings together South Asian under one roof first appeared on VOSA.
New York: US has become the educational destiny for Pakistani students pursuing higher education, as the number of Pakistani students studying at different US educational institutions is surging at 17 percent, on an annual basis.
A US government report suggests that the number of Pakistani students in the US has surged by 17 percent in 2022, compared to 2021.
This week, a report released from the US capital – Washington said that the US has been the top priority for the students of South Asian Countries including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Bengali students are taking lead with an annual 23 percent penetration in the US educational institutions, followed by Indians with 19 percent, during the period under review.
It is relevant to mention here that Pakistani students are making the most of the US-funded Fulbright Scholarship program in the educational field under which as many as 150 students go the different US institutions for the higher education.
US has been kind enough to ensure monetary assistance for some 800 students from Pakistan each year under the Exchange Program.
This is the reason why Pakistan is considered as the hub of students’ network formerly graduated from the US.
‘Open Donors Report on International Educational Exchange’ suggests that the number of students visiting the US from China and India constitute 52 percent of the total students coming to the US from across the globe.
The post US becomes the educational destiny for Pakistani students pursuing higher education first appeared on VOSA.
This post was originally published on VOSA.
International Women’s Day is today 8 March and celebratory events are being held around the world. This year’s theme is #BreakTheBias, aimed at imagining “a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.” While this special day offers hope for gender equity, it is also a reminder of the omnipresent phenomenon of violence against women, which exists regardless of the day, and needs to be addressed in a fundamental way.
There is too much to choose from (as usual); for last year’s see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2021/03/08/celebrating-international-womens-day-in-2021/]
Still, here some concrete samples:
Upasana Rana reports Global Voices of 7 March on Nepal [https://globalvoices.org/2022/03/07/this-international-womens-day-lets-come-together-against-violence/]
On the same site Njeri Wangari tells us about how Feminist music icons from around Africa to celebrate this International Women’s Day. See her Spotify playlist with hits from artists like Fatoumata Diawara, Cesária Évora, Shishani Vranckx, Thandiswa Mazwai, and more.
Amnesty International issued a statement “International Women’s Day: Dramatic deterioration in respect for women’s rights and gender equality must be decisively reversed“
- Alarming assaults on women’s rights around the world in 2021/22.
- Legal protections dismantled, and women human rights defenders now at unprecedented risk.
- Protection and promotion of women’s and girls’ rights and support for women human rights defenders crucial, including for Covid-19 recovery.
- Governments must act decisively to reverse regressions and uphold human rights for women and girls.
Catastrophic attacks on human rights and gender equality over the past twelve months have lowered protection for and upped threats against women and girls across the globe. On International Women’s Day, the organization called for bold action to reverse erosions of human rights for women and girls.
“Events in 2021 and in the early months of 2022 have conspired to crush the rights and dignity of millions of women and girls. The world’s crises do not impact equally, let alone fairly. The disproportionate impacts on women’s and girls’ rights are well-documented yet still neglected, when not ignored outright. But the facts are clear. The Covid-19 pandemic, the overwhelming rollback on women’s rights in Afghanistan, the widespread sexual violence characterizing the conflict in Ethiopia, attacks on abortion access in the US and Turkey’s withdrawal from the landmark Istanbul Convention on Gender Based Violence: each is a grave erosion of rights in its own terms but taken together? We must stand up to and stare down this global assault on women’s and girls’ dignity,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard. [see https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/international-womens-day-dramatic-deterioration-in-respect-for-womens-rights-and-gender-equality-must-be-decisively-reversed/]
Human Rights Watch focuses on Afghanistan: On International Women’s Day, we should remember Afghanistan, and consider what the state of women’s rights there means for the struggle for gender equality worldwide. The Taliban were notorious for violating women’s rights when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. So, when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan again on August 15 last year, Afghan women’s rights defenders were deeply skeptical that the new rulers would be any different from the Taliban that controlled the country before, despite their pledges to respect women’s rights. They were right.
In less than seven months since taking over, the Taliban have:
- closed most girls’ secondary schools;
- created barriers to women and girls pursuing higher education;
- banned women from most paid employment;
- abolished the Ministry of Women’s Affairs;
- restricted women’s movement including blocking them from leaving the country alone;
- dismantled Afghanistan’s system that provided protection from gender-based violence;
- created barriers to women and girls accessing health care;
- beaten and abducted women’s rights protesters;
- silenced female journalists;
- banned women’s sports; and
- appointed a men-only administration.
Afghanistan is not the only country where women’s rights are under attack this International Women’s Day. But the speed and extent of the obliteration of women’s rights in Afghanistan is a warning to women around the world about the fragility of progress toward equality, how quickly it can vanish, and how few will defend it. We should all be in solidarity with Afghan women; their fight is a fight for women’s rights everywhere. [See: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/08/standing-afghan-women-and-girls-international-womens-day]
Caitlin Fitzsimmons in the Sydney Morning Herald of 6 March argues that “International Women’s Day highlights climate justice as a feminist issue”. Women are on the front lines of the global climate crisis, making up 80 per cent of the 21.5 million people displaced every year by climate-related events. [See: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/international-women-s-day-highlights-climate-justice-as-a-feminist-issue-20220303-p5a1ba.html]
On International Women’s Day, UN Human Rights stands with women and girls human rights defenders of all ages, backgrounds & identities leading our collective struggle to protect our climate and environment. See.g.:
Meet Brianna Frueran, a Pacific climate change activist fighting for her native Samoan islands’ survival.
Meet Mya Pol, a content creator from the United States who advocates for disability rights and educates people about environmentalism on her social media platform.
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Cambodia to Costa Rica
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Jackson Heights,
Thanksgiving is on head in US, various communities organize different programs, especially in New York. At Jackson Heights, New York City, Nepali community organizes Thanksgiving Culture Day in collaboration with 18 other organizations, including the New York Police and the Mayor’s Office. Hundreds of people participated and said that it is a great pleasure to celebrate this day.
On the occasion traditional Turkey was distributed and also a large number of other necessities were distributed. Women also performed Nepali dance on Culture Day. Members of the Nepali community wore national costumes, while women wore cultural costumes and jewelry.
The New York Police Department’s18 precinct also set up a help desk on the occasion.
This post was originally published on VOSA.
Enforced disappearance refers to the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by agents of the State, or those acting with State authorization or support, whose whereabouts are unknown.
Once largely the product of military dictatorships, it has become a global problem, according to the UN, with hundreds of thousands of people “disappeared” in more than 80 countries. Impunity remains widespread.
While strictly prohibited under international human rights law, the SG, Mr. Guterres said enforced disappearance continues to be used across the world as a method of repression, terror, and stifling dissent.
“Paradoxically, it is sometimes used under the pretext of countering crime or terrorism. Lawyers, witnesses, political opposition, and human rights defenders are particularly at risk,” he added.
Having been removed from the protection of the law, victims, who can include children, are deprived of all their rights and are at the mercy of their captors.
They are frequently tortured and know that it is unlikely anyone will come to their aid. Some are even killed.
“Enforced disappearance deprives families and communities of the right to know the truth about their loved ones, of accountability, justice and reparation,” the Secretary-General said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the agony and anguish of enforced disappearance, by limiting capacities to search for missing persons and investigate alleged enforced disappearance.”
It was established by the UN General Assembly, which adopted a resolution in December 2010 expressing deep concern about the rise in incidents in various regions, and increasing reports of harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances, or relatives of people who were disappeared.
The resolution also welcomed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which calls for countries to take measures to hold perpetrators criminally responsible.
“The Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearances is indispensable in helping to tackle this cowardly practice. But it requires the will and commitment of those with the power to do so,” the Secretary-General said. “States must fulfil their obligations to prevent enforced disappearance, to search for the victims, and to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators.”
Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for countries to ratify the Convention, and to work with the UN Committee that monitors its implementation, as well as the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, which assists families in determining the fate of their loved ones.
On this day Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) issued a statement that the government of Nepal should promptly enforce Supreme Court rulings and permit the regular courts to try cases of enforced disappearance and other grave international crimes. On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, August 30, 2021, thousands of Nepali families are no closer to knowing the truth of what happened to their missing loved ones than they were when the country’s armed conflict ended 15 years ago.
Nepal’s Supreme Court has repeatedly ordered the government to investigate gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law during the conflict from 1996 to 2006, and to conduct a meaningful, effective transitional justice process to establish the truth and provide justice for thousands of cases of serious abuses.
“The Nepali government stands in blatant violation of express orders of the Supreme Court by failing to conduct a credible, timely transitional justice process,” said Mandira Sharma, senior legal adviser for South Asia at the ICJ.
The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/30/nepal-stop-stalling-enforced-disappearance-inquiries
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
UK-based security firm faces calls to repay charges made by recruitment agents for jobs in Gulf states and conflict zones
Migrant workers working for the British security company G4S in the United Arab Emirates have collectively been forced to pay millions of pounds in illegal fees to recruitment agents to secure their jobs, the Guardian can reveal.
An investigation into G4S’s recruitment practices has found that workers from south Asia and east Africa have been made to pay up to £1,775 to recruitment agents working for the British company in order to get jobs as security guards for G4S in the UAE.
Forcing workers to pay recruitment fees is a widespread practice, but one that is illegal in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The practice allows companies to pass on the costs of recruitment to workers from some of the poorest countries in the world, leaving many deep in debt and vulnerable to modern forms of slavery, such as debt bondage.
Related: ‘We’re poor people’: Middle East’s migrant workers look for way home amid pandemic
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Baltistan,
Climbers of the winter expedition Mount K2, which is the second-highest mountain in the world, have left the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Friday for Pakistan.
Thirteen of the world’s 14 peaks taller than 8,000-meters have been climbed in winter. But one still remains unclimbed the 8,611 meters K2, the world’s second tallest in Pakistan.
Climbers say that avalanches are an ever-present risk, and in winter temperatures can fall to -50C. Winds blow up to 200km/h that’s equal to cyclone Fani, the most severe storm that travelled more than 900 kilometres from the Indian state of Odisha and blew nearly two dozen tents at Everest’s Camp 2, at 6,400 metres in May last year.
K2 is also considered to be a technically very difficult mountain to climb and has been dubbed “Killer Mountain” for the sheer number of climbers that have lost their lives on the mountain.
“It’s the planet’s toughest and most dangerous mountain to climb,” said Kami Rita Sherpa, who has climbed Everest a record 24 times.
Eighty-four climbers have died attempting to climb K2, and only 306 have reached its summit. The death and success ratio is roughly one death for every three successful climbs.
In contrast, 6,507 mountaineers have climbed Everest from the Nepal side since Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and New Zealander Edmund Percival Hillary first set foot atop the world’s highest peak in May 1953.
In the summer of 1954, Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli became the first persons to reach the summit of K2.
“K2 is 237 meters lower than Everest, but it is much challenging to climb even in the best conditions. That’s in summer,” said Kami Rita. “The weather in winter is beyond imagination. The weather is good only for 2-3 hours a day.”
Kami Rita, who had climbed the K2 in the summer of 2014, said as far as K2 is concerned he is retired.
But now a massive 55-member group of climbing veterans from around the world, including 27 Sherpas from Nepal, has set its sight on one of the most daring missions on the planet, which many mountaineers still call an “impossible project”.
The extreme mission, that may cost more than Rs200 million, is being handled by Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks, which also devised the expedition.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the youngest mountaineer to have climbed all the 14 highest peaks, is leading the K2 winter mission.
Spanish climber Sergi Mingote, who has been attempting to climb all eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen within 1,000 days, is the co-leader of the expedition. Mingote’s plan had come to a halt, after seven successful summits, due to COVID-19 related restrictions.
Nepali climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja, who smashed the record for taking the shortest time to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter-high mountains and had also announced his plans to climb bid K2 in the winter of 2020-21, has joined the group. Through his website nimsdai.com, he has described K2 winter ascent as “the last great mountaineering challenge”.
Other climbers include Noel Hanna from Britain, Arnold Coster from the Netherlands, Atanas Skatov from Bulgaria, Waldemar Kowalewski from Poland, Antonis Sykaris from Greece and Luis Carlos Garranzo Ibanez from Spain. Slovenian, Romanian, Swiss, Italian, Chilen, American and Finnish mountaineers are also part of the 55-member mission.
The two-month-long expedition will begin from December 21 and ends by February 28.
“Ten Sherpa climbers left for Pakistan on Sunday,” said Thaneshwor Guragain, manager of Seven Summit Treks. “The remaining 17 climbers from Nepal are scheduled to join them on December 18 and others from around the world will join the expedition by December 20.”
The bid to climb K2 in the winter has attracted mountaineers for long.
The mountain has been attempted more than 30 times in winter but all expeditions have been unsuccessful with the highest point reached being 7,400 meters.
Last winter, Spanish mountaineer Alex Txikon, led one of the two expeditions to K2 comprising mostly Sherpa climbers. But it was unsuccessful. Several expeditions have failed in past years, mainly because of unstable climate, mountaineers said.
“The K2 winter feat is very tough. If any member of the team climbs, it will be another milestone in the mountaineering history the first winter ascent of the world’s second-tallest mountain,” said Kami Rita. “Even Sherpas who have climbed Everest multiple times are scared to climb K2.”
K2 is a rocky mountain up to 6,000 meters and beyond it becomes an ocean of snow, according to Seven Summit Treks.
“It’s difficult even to reach the base camp of K2. We have to trek on the glacier for a week to reach the base camp and there aren’t any lodging and fooding facilities on the way up,” said Kami Rita, who has plans to lead two expeditions on Everest in spring next year.
According to Kami Rita, one spot in particular is infamous in K2. That’s Bottleneck, a perilous couloir about 300 meters below the summit, which was the site of a 2008 tragedy in which 11 people were killed in an avalanche.
“Winter brings with it a whole different level of danger and challenge. Numerous teams have attempted since 1987-88, but all have fallen short, Purja writes in his website describing it as a personal project.
“Not only do the sheerness of the slopes and overall exposure create a technically challenging climb, but the weather is also always the great opponent on K2 all year round.”
This post was originally published on VOSA.
This year’s Václav Havel Human Rights Award has shortlisted three female finalists, The panel nominated Saudi women’s rights defender Loujain al-Hathloul, a group of young Buddhist nuns from a monastery in Nepal and Julienne Lusenge, who documents cases of wartime sexual violence in the Congo.
The winner will be announced at the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 19. For more on this award see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/award/7A8B4A4A-0521-AA58-2BF0-DD1B71A25C8D.
Al-Hathloul heads the opposition to the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia. She has been imprisoned since 2018. [see https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/12/29/loujain-al-hathloul-sentenced-to-over-5-years-prison-by-saudi-terror-court/]
The nuns from the monastery called Amitabha Drukpa constitute a group who promotes gender equality, environmental sustainability, and intercultural tolerance in the Himalayan villages. They gained fame by transporting material help to outlying villages after an earthquake near Kathmandu in 2015. They also teach women’s self-defense and they have biked over 20,000 kilometers in protest against trading in women and girls.
Lusenge is a human rights activist who documents cases of sexual abuse and violence against women in Congo. She has contributed to the conviction of hundreds of perpetrators of acts of sexual violence against women nationwide. She was often threatened for her work.
Michael Žantovský, director of the Václav Havel Library, said: “Last year, we dedicated the autumn Prague conference, which usually takes place on the occasion of the Václav Havel Prize, to women’s rights. We are glad that the jury followed a similar point.”.
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders.