UN treaty body reviews of Nepal

• CEDAW 2011
• CERD 2004
• CESCR 2007
• CAT 2005

Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women

When Nepal was examined by the CEDAW Committee in 2011, the Committee urged, among other things, the State party to prioritize combating multiple forms of discrimination against women from various disadvantaged groups, including Dalit women (para. 40 in the Concluding Observations).

Examination of NEPAL, 20 July 2011, CEDAW 49th session:

• Relevant abstracts and full version of Concluding Observations
• CEDAW lobby brief on the situation of Dalit women by FEDO in association with IDSN
• Shadow Report by the Forum for Women, Law and Development
• IDSN news piece from CEDAW review of Nepal

The Government was asked to submit its sixth periodic report to CEDAW in July 2015.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Nepal was examined by the CERD Committee in 2004, where the Committee expressed deep concern "at the persistence of the de facto caste-based
discrimination and the culture of impunity that apparently permeates the higher strata of a hierarchical social system" (para. 12 in the Concluding Observations).

Examination of NEPAL, March 2004, CERD 64th session:

• Concluding Observations - CERD Nepal 2004

• Report by HRTMCC, The Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Co-ordinating Committee for the CERD review of Nepal 2004

• Report by Asian Human Rigths Commission and Asian Legal Resource Centre

The Government was asked to submit its next periodic reports to CERD on 1 March 2008. By mid 2011 the report had not yet been submitted.

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• NGO alternative report by Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Committee (HRTMCC)

• Concluding Observations - CESCR Nepal 2007

In the Concluding Observations, the Committee expressed the following concern, among other things:

13.        The Committee notes with concern that, in spite of the provisions in the Interim Constitution prohibiting caste-based discrimination, such discrimination persists with impunity. The Committee is particularly concerned about the obstacles that victims of caste-based discrimination reportedly face in accessing justice.  

24.      The Committee is concerned by the denial of access of persons belonging to the lower castes to public wells, thereby directly threatening their right to an adequate standard of living and their right to the highest attainable standard of health.  

30.  The Committee requests the State party to provide in its next periodic report detailed, updated information including disaggregated data on a comparative basis, on the effective measures undertaken to implement its treaty obligations.  The Committee urges the State party to ensure that,  in the Constitutional process currently underway, all sectors of society, including disadvantaged and marginalized groups, in particular the Dalit, the Madhesi and indigenous communities, and especially women within these groups, are represented in decision-making bodies at all levels.  It recommends that concrete and active efforts be made to promote the participation of these groups in the Constituent Assembly, which, following the election of its members in 2007, will embark on the drafting of a new Constitution.

43.  The Committee recommends the immediate application of the Interim Constitution and laws prohibiting caste-based discrimination and segregation in cases of denial of access to public water sources. It recommends that access to public wells be closely monitored by the District Development Committees or by another appropriate local body.

The Committee requests the State party to submit its third periodic report by 30 June 2011 and to include in that report, detailed information on the steps it has undertaken to implement the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations.

Examination of NEPAL, November 2005, CAT 35th session:

> Download the alternative report Missing Piece of the Puzzle: Caste discrimination and the conflict in Nepal prepared by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, NYU School of Law for the CAT review of Nepal, 2005.

• Link to CAT's website (state report and list of issues) 
• Concluding Observations

In the Concluding Observations, the Committee concluded the following in paragraph 26:

"Despite the State party’s acknowledgment that caste discrimination exists in the country and the creation of the National Dalit Commission, the Committee is gravely concerned about the continued deeply rooted discriminatory practices committed on a large scale against marginalized and disadvantaged groups or castes such as the Dalits.  The Committee is also concerned that the long-standing pattern of caste discrimination is being further entrenched by the current conflict in the country.The Committee reaffirms that it is the duty of the State party to protect all members of society, in particular citizens belonging to marginalized and disadvantaged groups or castes, such as the Dalits.  The State party should take specific steps to safeguard their physical integrity, ensure that accountability mechanisms are in place guaranteeing that caste is not used as a basis for abuses, unlawful detention and torture, and take steps to ensure more diverse caste and ethnic representation in its police and security forces.  The State party should include information on caste discrimination in its next periodic report."

The State Party has been invited to submit its next periodic report, which will be considered as the combined third, fourth and fifth report, by 12 June 2008.