April 8, 2011
Nepal, with a population of approximately 29 million, is a federal democratic republic. The political system is based on the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 (of 2007), with a prime minister as the chief executive, and the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA), which is responsible for drafting a new constitution. After failing to deliver a new constitution on May 28, as required by the interim constitution, the CA extended its deadline for one additional year. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (UML), tendered his resignation on June 30, but after numerous rounds of voting the parliament had not elected a new prime minister by year's end. Domestic and international observers generally characterized the 2008 election results as credible, although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities. Security forces reported to civilian authorities, but there were frequent instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.
Members of the security forces committed human rights abuses. Members of the Nepal Police (NP) and Armed Police Force (APF) committed extrajudicial killings and tortured numerous persons. Security forces used arbitrary arrest and detention. Impunity for human rights violators continued. The government continued to restrict the freedoms of Tibetans. Societal discrimination against women, persons of lower castes, some ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities remained a problem. Violence against women and children continued.
The Sanyukta Jatiya Mukti Morcha (SJMM), an armed group, used threats to force the en masse resignations of Village Development Committee secretaries (VDCs) from various parts of the country. Members of the Maoist militias, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL), and members of other small, ethnically-based armed groups engaged in arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force. Numerous armed groups, largely in the Terai region in the lowland area near the Indian border, attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular ethnic groups, each other, or Maoist militias. Armed groups, criminals, and political parties used threats of violence to intimidate journalists throughout the country.
In 2008 citizens elected members for the Constituent Assembly (CA) to serve as both a legislature and constitution drafting body. Domestic and international observers found the election results credible, although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities. The most recent local elections, held in 2006, were not considered free and fair.
The CA consists of 601 members, with 240 elected by a first-past-the-post system; 335 by proportional representation; quotas for Dalits, oppressed caste/indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesis, women, and other underrepresented groups; and 26 nominated by the cabinet. CA members classified as oppressed or members of minority ethnic groups constituted 35 percent of the total, and 33 percent were women. The president and vice president belong to the historically disadvantaged Madhesi ethnic community.
Political parties generally operated without restriction or outside interference, although there were some allegations that activists from the UCPN-M do not allow other political parties to organize and campaign freely in certain districts.
There are no specific laws that restrict women, indigenous people, or minorities from voting or participating in government or in political parties, but tradition limited the roles of women and some castes and ethnicities in the political process. Members of certain castes traditionally held more power than others. There are 195 women out of a total of 596 currently serving as members of the CA. Of the 44-member cabinet, seven members were from ethnic minority communities, five were women, and four were Dalits. Most of the larger political parties had associated youth wings, trade unions, and social organizations.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The law provides that each community shall have the right "to preserve and promote its language, script, and culture" and to operate schools at the primary level in its native language. In practice the government generally upheld these provisions.
There were more than 75 ethnic groups in the country who spoke 50 different languages. In remote areas, school lessons and radio broadcasts often were in the local language. In urban areas, education was almost exclusively offered in Nepali or English.
Discrimination against lower castes and some ethnic groups, particularly Madhesis and ethnic minorities, was especially common in the Terai and in rural areas in the western part of the country, even though the government outlawed the public shunning of Dalits and made an effort to protect the rights of disadvantaged castes. Better education and higher levels of prosperity, especially in the Kathmandu valley, were slowly reducing caste distinctions and increasing opportunities for lower socioeconomic groups. Better educated, urban-oriented castes continued to dominate politics and senior administrative and military positions and to control a disproportionate share of natural resources.
Caste-based discrimination is illegal; however, Dalits occasionally were barred from entering temples and sharing water sources. Progress in reducing discrimination was more successful in urban areas.
In March a group of persons in Darchula District physically mistreated a Dalit man because of his caste. After filing a complaint of caste-based discrimination at the DPO, the court issued its first-ever verdict in a caste-based discrimination case and imposed a fine of 2,000 rupees ($28) against the main perpetrator.
On June 21, 12 villagers in Kailali District beat a Dalit woman and forced her and her daughters to leave the village. The Dalit woman, who is a human rights defender, filed an FIR under the Public Offenses Act. The National Women’s Commission investigated the case, and a fact-finding mission report was made public.
In a March court ruling in Baitadi District, a man was fined and sentenced to two years' imprisonment for a caste-based discrimination offense in July 2009; he did not serve the sentence and was believed to have fled the country.
Resistance to intercaste marriage (upper and lower caste) remained high and in some cases resulted in forced expulsion from the community. Dalits who participated in wedding ceremonies traditionally reserved for non-Dalits, such as riding a horse, were sometimes assaulted; however, the courts have shown a willingness to prosecute such cases of discrimination.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154484.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment