Overview of Human Rights in Nepal

The human rights situation in the Kingdom of Nepal is poor. Despite the fact that in recent years, the Nepalese government made a commitment to improve its level of respect for the human rights of all citizens, the situation has seen only limited improved.  That said, some progress on the political landscape augurs the possibility of change in the realm of human rights.

On Feb. 1, 2005, King Gyanendra curtailed the power of the civilian government. Security forces arrested leaders of the major political parties, and the authorities severed communication links within Nepal and the outside world. Peaceful demonstrations calling for the return to a parliamentary democracy ensued as a result and were met with excessive force and mass arrest by the police. In demonstrations in the spring of 2006, thousands of protestors were arrested and held in crowded and unsanitary warehouses.  Such protests continued to the extent that a mass uprising appeared to be taking place.  The situation led to an increasing number of internally displaced people.  That said, the king was eventually compelled to restore parliamentary democracy to the country and movement toward both reform and reconciliation has since been advanced.

Meanwhile, the situation was not helped by the ongoing Maoist insurgency, which has been responsible for numerous attacks throughout the country.    Their activities, as well as clashes with the government's security forces, have contributed to the destabilization of the country, which has not helped the human rights situation.  In fact, lower caste people frequently flee certain areas due to threats from either Maoists or security forces.  While the uprising against the king was going on in the first part of 2006, violence by the Maoists was also taking place.  Concordance on the Maoists' inclusion in the new government in 2007 marked an end to the insurgency and the start of their participation in regular political life.

In the backdrop of this political drama, there have been prevailing human rights problems.  Trade and student unions do not operate freely. The media, unless government controlled, has been restricted. Extrajudicial killings, disappearances, illegal detentions, extortion, and forced displacement of civilians are being committed by both the government and Maoist insurgency.

Meanwhile, human rights activists have been attacked and harassed by both the government and the Maoists. High levels of discrimination and violence are experienced by both the Tharu and Badi communities. The police forces are sometimes responsible for the offences committed.

That said, there are high hopes that ongoing peace talks and the new coalition government will bring stability to the country, and thus, the foundation will be set for an improvement to the human rights landscape in Nepal.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

138th out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.