Amnesty International Update on Nepal
Even though the Prime Minister of Nepal claimed in his speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs that Nepal’s constitution has no discriminatory citizenship provisions, this has been negated by Amnesty International Report 2015/16 among others. The tweet below shows the relevant section from PM Oli’s speech.
Our @PM_Nepal claimed our constitution does not discriminate based on citizenship laws https://t.co/IdE1jvGra6 pic.twitter.com/Gz7uyk5T0Z
— Puru Shah (@digitalsubway) February 23, 2016
Amnesty International has released its annual report for 2015/16. Below are the sections that relate to Nepal. It highlights the human rights violations in Tarai-Madhes, severe shortages in Nepal caused by obstructions at Nepal/India border, discrimination against women and minorities and delay in earthquake relief among others. The report mentions about the discriminatory citizenship provisions that affect single women and same-sex couples.
Discrimination Against Women
The draft Constitution presented for public consultation in July raised major human rights concerns, with the rights of women, and marginalized communities such as Dalits, inadequately protected.
There were serious concerns around the citizenship provisions which discriminated against single women and same-sex couples, and around provisions including freedoms of religion and expression, access to justice, preventative detention, sexual and reproductive rights and child rights.
During the public consultation, approximately 40,000 recommendations from human rights organizations and the public were received by the Constituent Assembly, but it failed to make necessary changes and key concerns remained unaddressed in the final text, adopted on 20 September.
Constitution Making and Human Rights Violations in Tarai
On 8 August, four major political parties brokered an agreement to define Nepal as a federal republic in the new Constitution and to split it into seven federally administered states. Ethnic groups in south and mid-west Nepal protested against the new structure which they saw as denying them political representation.
This resulted in a surge of often violent protests in the Tarai region. Security forces resorted to excessive, disproportionate or unnecessary force in several clashes with protesters. By October, at least 47 civilians and 10 police had been killed in clashes.
Amnesty International Report page 267
Amnesty International Report page 268
Amnesty International Report page 269
Featured Image Credits: Accessed via Amnesty International Website. © Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images
