Nepalese NGOs have prepared a joint submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The report includes a number of recommendations to the Nepalese government on how to address caste discrimination.
The Government of Nepal should immediately enact a law to eliminate ‘untouchability’ practices and discrimination against the country’s sizeable Dalit population. It should also ensure ‘proportional representation’ for Dalits in the public sector and adopt a number of other measures to address caste discrimination.
These recommendations are included in the main report of three coalitions of Nepalese human rights NGOs, submitted to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review Mechanism. The coalitions are: the Nepal NGO Coalition for UPR (NNC-UPR), the National Women Coalition and the Durban Review Conference Follow-up Committee Nepal. They comprise 238 civil society organisations.
The submission deals with a number of human rights issues, including caste discrimination. It is the outcome of a series of regional, national and thematic consultations with relevant stakeholders including the government and national institutions.
A thematic submission by the Durban Review Conference (DRC) Follow-up Committee also presents a number of recommendations to the Government of Nepal. They include issues relating to the rights of Dalit women and children.
The UPR is a monitoring mechanism established under the UN Human Rights Council. Each UN member state is reviewed periodically every four years on its human rights record. The review is based on a national report prepared by the state in question as well as UN documents and information presented by NGOs and national human rights institutions.
Click here to read the main NGO submission
Click here to read the DRC Committee submission