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COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF NEPAL
13 August 1998
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AFTERNOON
HR/CERD/98/50
13 August 1998
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon concluded its consideration of a report from the Government of Nepal on measures to implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing the report, Shambhu Ram Simkhada, Minister and Chargé d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said, among other things, that Nepal was struggling to promote racial equality among its multi-racial society, which was also one of the poorest in the region. Nepal had returned to a democratic situation with the restoration of a democratic constitutional monarchy.
Peter Nobel, the Committee expert serving as country rapporteur to the report of Nepal, in his preliminary concluding remarks, said that legislative development was lagging behind the evolving situation and urged the Government to enact necessary legislative measures to implement the provisions of the International Convention.
Also this afternoon, the Committee adopted a document on the consideration of copies of petitions and other information relating to trust and non-self-governing territories and to all other territories to which General Assembly resolution 154 (XV) applied, in conformity with article 15 of the Convention. According to this article, the Committee should include in its report to the General Assembly a summary of the petitions and reports it had received from United Nations bodies.
Participating in the discussion were Committee experts Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Deci Zou, Rüdiger Wolfrum, Theodoor van Boven, Ion Diaconu, Régis de Gouttes, Agha Shahi, and Michael E. Sherifis.
As one of the 150 States parties to the Convention, Nepal is required to submit periodic summaries to the Committee on efforts to implement the treaty. The Committee will issue its formal, written observations on the report of Nepal towards the end of its session which concludes on Friday, 21 August.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 14 August, it will take up communications which it received from individuals or groups claiming that they were victims of racial discrimination in their respective countries.
Report of Nepal
The thirteenth periodic report of Nepal (document CERD/C/298/Add.1) notes in its general comments that the country's brief experiment of democracy came to an end in the early 1960s with the imposition of a one party system. However, the regime was overthrown by the non-violent mass movement in 1990 and a democratic constitutional monarchy was established. The report outlines measures to combat racism and ethnic discrimination. It also contains a description of the relevant legal framework and other measures undertaken to fulfil the obligations under the Convention.
Introduction of Report of Nepal
SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA, Minister and Chargé d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations Office at Geneva, stated that his country had undergone a major political transformation as a result of the popular movement in 1990. Today, Nepal was a multi-party democracy with a constitutional monarchy. The new democratic Constitution was promulgated with the widest possible participation of the people, in whom the constitution now vested sovereignty for the first time in its history.
The change in the political system was also accomplished by many changes and opportunities for the consolidation of democracy and institutionalization of human rights, Mr. Simkhada went on to state. While the opportunities were characterized in the new democratic dispensation, the challenges were manifest most strikingly in the lack of technical human and material resources needed to be able to begin to adequately address the growing expectations of the people, he added.
Mr. Simkhada said that his Government had recently announced dates to conduct the delayed elections. It had also continued to take initiatives to bring the basic norms of democracy and human rights elements into the political mainstream. Since 1990, Nepal had taken many appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures to implement the rights in the Constitution. Despite difficulties, commitment to promote human rights was clearly reflected in the various measures so far adopted, he added.
Mr. Simkhada further stated that the independence of the judiciary was guaranteed by the existence of the Constitutional Council which was responsible for appointing the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council. Access to justice for all was enhanced by the availability of legal aid. In 1997, the Government had also enacted the Human Rights Commission Act and Comprehensive for Torture Act, he said.
Although the Constitution officially designated Nepal as a Hindu Kingdom, other constitutional provisions guaranteed that there was no discrimination against other religions, Mr. Simkhada said. The regime had, however, a secular character, he added. In addition, the Constitution recognized all languages spoken in Nepal as national languages.
Consideration of the Report of Nepal
PETER NOBEL, the Committee expert serving as country rapporteur for the report of Nepal, said that the report was well documented and was presented in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee. Nevertheless, the human rights situation in Nepal had given rise to concern. That was all reflected in many United Nations documents as much as in the reports of Amnesty International and other international non-governmental organizations.
Mr. Nobel said that there were concerns about torture, arbitrary executions and detention, enforced or involuntary disappearances, right to the freedom of movement, and the rights of the child, particularly child trafficking and child prostitution.
Mr. Nobel recalled that concerning article 4 of the International Convention, which was on the condemnation by States parties of all propaganda and all organizations which were based on ideas of race superiority, members of the Committee were disappointed that Nepal had made a reservation. It was suggested that the Government could avail itself of the opportunity to withdraw its reservation so as to endure fully the applicability of the provisions of article 4. The reservation was still there, he said.
A number of paragraphs of the report described the role of the Supreme Court, but very little was said about the lower courts and their function, the expert said. The fact that access to justice for all was enhanced by the availability of legal aid to pay for legal representatives in all courts in the country was a very important part of the system. He wanted to know how it was operated and how it was financed.
Mr. Nobel said that the report had affirmed that the Constitution allowed any citizen to exercise the right to remedy by filing a petition in the Supreme Court. However, he wondered how that functioned in real life and particularly how an ordinary citizen being discriminated against on ethnic grounds filed a petition to the Supreme Court.
The expert also referred to the situation of thousands of Bhutanese of Nepalese origin living in camps as refugees. He said it was reported that the Nepalese Government steadfastly refused to consider any solution other than the resettlement in Bhutan of all ethnic Nepalese living in camps. The refugees fled the 1991 political and ethnic violence in Bhutan to get refuge in Nepal. At present, they were 85,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese origin.
Other Committee members also raised numerous questions ranging from bonded labour, notion of castes, to the Deuki system. Several experts disapproved of the tradition of the Deuki system in Nepal in which girls were forced into the flesh trade after being offered to a temple. A girl would become a Deuki when she was brought from a poor family to be offered to the gods. Traditionally, after a girl became a Deuki she could not marry and often engaged in prostitution for economic support. The child of a Deuki, known as a Devi, would find it difficult to get married because of a traditional belief that some disaster would strike the husband's family. Committee experts stressed that the Government should adopted measures to eradicate such practices.
Committee experts also urged the Government of Nepal to withdraw its reservation on article 4 of the International Convention so as to allow its full implementation in the country. They encouraged the Government to consider drafting specific legislation that would give direct effect to the provisions of the International Convention.
SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA, in response to some of the questions raised by Committee members, said that the Government had been engaged in dialogue with the organizations involved in the protection of refugees in Nepal. The Bhutanese refugees were there following political violence in the neighbouring State. Nepal was a recipient country and was doing its best to ensure the voluntary expatriation of the refugees where their rights were protected as citizens of Bhutan.
With regard to the caste system, he said that the situation was very complex and there were measures designed to ameliorate the disadvantaged
conditions of some caste groups. The Government was endeavouring to change the situation and improve the living conditions of the people under the caste system. Although the caste system was abolished legally, it was estimated that 56 per cent of the population was included within the Hindu caste system. The issue of the untouchables, who were vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of the population, had attained the attention of the Government and appropriate measures had been sought to eradicate the situation.
HR/CERD/98/50
13 August 1998
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon concluded its consideration of a report from the Government of Nepal on measures to implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing the report, Shambhu Ram Simkhada, Minister and Chargé d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said, among other things, that Nepal was struggling to promote racial equality among its multi-racial society, which was also one of the poorest in the region. Nepal had returned to a democratic situation with the restoration of a democratic constitutional monarchy.
Peter Nobel, the Committee expert serving as country rapporteur to the report of Nepal, in his preliminary concluding remarks, said that legislative development was lagging behind the evolving situation and urged the Government to enact necessary legislative measures to implement the provisions of the International Convention.
Also this afternoon, the Committee adopted a document on the consideration of copies of petitions and other information relating to trust and non-self-governing territories and to all other territories to which General Assembly resolution 154 (XV) applied, in conformity with article 15 of the Convention. According to this article, the Committee should include in its report to the General Assembly a summary of the petitions and reports it had received from United Nations bodies.
Participating in the discussion were Committee experts Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Deci Zou, Rüdiger Wolfrum, Theodoor van Boven, Ion Diaconu, Régis de Gouttes, Agha Shahi, and Michael E. Sherifis.
As one of the 150 States parties to the Convention, Nepal is required to submit periodic summaries to the Committee on efforts to implement the treaty. The Committee will issue its formal, written observations on the report of Nepal towards the end of its session which concludes on Friday, 21 August.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 14 August, it will take up communications which it received from individuals or groups claiming that they were victims of racial discrimination in their respective countries.
Report of Nepal
The thirteenth periodic report of Nepal (document CERD/C/298/Add.1) notes in its general comments that the country's brief experiment of democracy came to an end in the early 1960s with the imposition of a one party system. However, the regime was overthrown by the non-violent mass movement in 1990 and a democratic constitutional monarchy was established. The report outlines measures to combat racism and ethnic discrimination. It also contains a description of the relevant legal framework and other measures undertaken to fulfil the obligations under the Convention.
Introduction of Report of Nepal
SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA, Minister and Chargé d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations Office at Geneva, stated that his country had undergone a major political transformation as a result of the popular movement in 1990. Today, Nepal was a multi-party democracy with a constitutional monarchy. The new democratic Constitution was promulgated with the widest possible participation of the people, in whom the constitution now vested sovereignty for the first time in its history.
The change in the political system was also accomplished by many changes and opportunities for the consolidation of democracy and institutionalization of human rights, Mr. Simkhada went on to state. While the opportunities were characterized in the new democratic dispensation, the challenges were manifest most strikingly in the lack of technical human and material resources needed to be able to begin to adequately address the growing expectations of the people, he added.
Mr. Simkhada said that his Government had recently announced dates to conduct the delayed elections. It had also continued to take initiatives to bring the basic norms of democracy and human rights elements into the political mainstream. Since 1990, Nepal had taken many appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures to implement the rights in the Constitution. Despite difficulties, commitment to promote human rights was clearly reflected in the various measures so far adopted, he added.
Mr. Simkhada further stated that the independence of the judiciary was guaranteed by the existence of the Constitutional Council which was responsible for appointing the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council. Access to justice for all was enhanced by the availability of legal aid. In 1997, the Government had also enacted the Human Rights Commission Act and Comprehensive for Torture Act, he said.
Although the Constitution officially designated Nepal as a Hindu Kingdom, other constitutional provisions guaranteed that there was no discrimination against other religions, Mr. Simkhada said. The regime had, however, a secular character, he added. In addition, the Constitution recognized all languages spoken in Nepal as national languages.
Consideration of the Report of Nepal
PETER NOBEL, the Committee expert serving as country rapporteur for the report of Nepal, said that the report was well documented and was presented in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee. Nevertheless, the human rights situation in Nepal had given rise to concern. That was all reflected in many United Nations documents as much as in the reports of Amnesty International and other international non-governmental organizations.
Mr. Nobel said that there were concerns about torture, arbitrary executions and detention, enforced or involuntary disappearances, right to the freedom of movement, and the rights of the child, particularly child trafficking and child prostitution.
Mr. Nobel recalled that concerning article 4 of the International Convention, which was on the condemnation by States parties of all propaganda and all organizations which were based on ideas of race superiority, members of the Committee were disappointed that Nepal had made a reservation. It was suggested that the Government could avail itself of the opportunity to withdraw its reservation so as to endure fully the applicability of the provisions of article 4. The reservation was still there, he said.
A number of paragraphs of the report described the role of the Supreme Court, but very little was said about the lower courts and their function, the expert said. The fact that access to justice for all was enhanced by the availability of legal aid to pay for legal representatives in all courts in the country was a very important part of the system. He wanted to know how it was operated and how it was financed.
Mr. Nobel said that the report had affirmed that the Constitution allowed any citizen to exercise the right to remedy by filing a petition in the Supreme Court. However, he wondered how that functioned in real life and particularly how an ordinary citizen being discriminated against on ethnic grounds filed a petition to the Supreme Court.
The expert also referred to the situation of thousands of Bhutanese of Nepalese origin living in camps as refugees. He said it was reported that the Nepalese Government steadfastly refused to consider any solution other than the resettlement in Bhutan of all ethnic Nepalese living in camps. The refugees fled the 1991 political and ethnic violence in Bhutan to get refuge in Nepal. At present, they were 85,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese origin.
Other Committee members also raised numerous questions ranging from bonded labour, notion of castes, to the Deuki system. Several experts disapproved of the tradition of the Deuki system in Nepal in which girls were forced into the flesh trade after being offered to a temple. A girl would become a Deuki when she was brought from a poor family to be offered to the gods. Traditionally, after a girl became a Deuki she could not marry and often engaged in prostitution for economic support. The child of a Deuki, known as a Devi, would find it difficult to get married because of a traditional belief that some disaster would strike the husband's family. Committee experts stressed that the Government should adopted measures to eradicate such practices.
Committee experts also urged the Government of Nepal to withdraw its reservation on article 4 of the International Convention so as to allow its full implementation in the country. They encouraged the Government to consider drafting specific legislation that would give direct effect to the provisions of the International Convention.
SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA, in response to some of the questions raised by Committee members, said that the Government had been engaged in dialogue with the organizations involved in the protection of refugees in Nepal. The Bhutanese refugees were there following political violence in the neighbouring State. Nepal was a recipient country and was doing its best to ensure the voluntary expatriation of the refugees where their rights were protected as citizens of Bhutan.
With regard to the caste system, he said that the situation was very complex and there were measures designed to ameliorate the disadvantaged
conditions of some caste groups. The Government was endeavouring to change the situation and improve the living conditions of the people under the caste system. Although the caste system was abolished legally, it was estimated that 56 per cent of the population was included within the Hindu caste system. The issue of the untouchables, who were vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of the population, had attained the attention of the Government and appropriate measures had been sought to eradicate the situation.