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| Pratap Singh Nachhiring |
Though,
Nepal is a party to number of UN human rights instruments including ILO C. 169
and UNDRIP, it has continued to systematically deny indigenous peoples their
internationally recognized and protected rights contained in the ongoing
constitution-making process. The Nepal government failed to ensure indigenous
peoples their rights to freely chose their own representatives and to
participate fully, equally and effectively in the Constituent Assembly, as per
the provisions of CERD, ICCPR, UNDRIP and ILO Convention 169—all treaties that
Nepal is party to In this regard, Prof. James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur
on Indigenous peoples and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (CERD) have both recommended
establishing participatory and consultative mechanisms in the constitution
making process to consult directly with indigenous peoples, through their own
chosen representatives and to ensure respect for and implementation of = their
own methods of decision-making process which to date have been ignored and
disregarded in political processes in the country. The Nepal government’s
failure to adequately ensure indigenous peoples’ participation in the
Constitution-making process in accordance with international law is likely to
cause irreparable harm to indigenous peoples, minimizing the chances that
indigenous rights are included in the forthcoming constitution. To protect the
traditional and discriminatory dominance of high caste groups in Nepal, the
Major Political Parties had been meeting outside of the Constituent
Assembly—violating Article 70 of the Interim Constitution that clearly guided
tha any decision about the Constitution making process shall be made in the
Constituent Assembly— to make key decisions without the influence and participation
of indigenous peoples thereby harming Indigenous Peoples’ rights to (among
other things) participation, power
sharing, self-governance, respect for their customs and customary laws, and
consultation in regards to the disposition of their lands, territories and
natural resources. The new Constitution is set to be promulgated at the end of
May, and the Supreme Court has refused to extend the term of the Constituent
Assembly despite the fact that many key issues have not been resolved
including—most significantly—how the new Nepal will be federalized. Without
more time, the Constituent Assembly will be unable to hold the public
consultations which would ensure that these issues are resolved in a way
satisfactory to the peoples of Nepal.
Not only has the
Government systematically denied indigenous peoples their right to
participation and jeopardized the inclusion of other indigenous rights in the
forthcoming constitution, but it has further continued to discriminate against
indigenous peoples and their traditional practices. For example, despite the
fact that Nepal was declared a secular country in 2006, the Civil Code
continues to call for imprisonment if any one slaughters a cow—a sacred animal
under Hinduism. Indigenous peoples are most often the victims of this
discriminatory law as beef is used in many of their rituals.
That the UNPFII should
encourage the Nepal government not to violate indigenous rights enshrined in
UNDRIP, ILO C. 169 and respect the recommendation of the SRIP as well as early
warnings of CERD by establishing a special mechanism for ensuring indigenous
peoples’ free, prior and informed consent in decision-making processes in the
country
Repeal the Civil Code
Chapter of Quadruped and release IPs who are imprisoned under charges of Cow
Slaughter.
Respect Indigenous
peoples’ right to culture and allow them to exercise traditional cultural and
political practices .
[*Paper presented in
the Eleventh Session of the UN permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (7-18, May
2012)]
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