This time, more events and a couple of speeches.International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is being recognized around the world today. Events even continue onto the weekend as the "Stand Up Against Poverty" campaign takes place. A story in the Afrique en ligne has a good overview on both events. The events, in which the UN and its partners will participate, will hold simultaneously around the world.In Lagos, Nigeria, a concert hosted by popular musician Femi Kuti to make "Music Against Poverty" will commemorate the life of renowned Nigerian Musician Fela Kuti and Stand Up in support of the MDGs.In Tema, Ghana, "Games Against Poverty" will use sport as a platform to support the MDGs.In the United States, students will join a campus challenge to build political will to end extreme...
New Government Should Investigate Past Abuses and Prosecute Perpetrators
(Kathmandu, September 11, 2008) – The new Maoist-led government of Nepal should investigate and prosecute those responsible for thousands of extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances during the country’s decade-long armed conflict, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum said in a joint report released today....
China Leans on Nepal to Stifle Demonstrations
The government of Nepal, under pressure from China, has arbitrarily arrested hundreds of Tibetans and restricted their right to demonstrate against the March 2008 crackdown in Tibet, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today. Human Rights Watch called on Nepal to respect Tibetans’ rights to free expression and assembly, and for China to end its pressure campaign against Nepal....
from the San Francisco Chronicle A sort of "micro-piglet" scheme in Nepal. - Kaleby Meredith May, Olga Murray of Sausalito had been volunteering for five years in Nepal, helping abandoned and disabled children get an education, when she read something in the newspaper that she couldn't believe.In the southern Dang district, rural Tharu farming families trapped in extreme poverty - earning less than a dollar a day - were making horrible sacrifices: selling their daughters as domestic slaves to wealthy Kathmandu families for $35 to $75."These girls are 7, 8, 9 and 10, and no one was checking up on them," said Murray, 83. "I was shocked."That was in 1989. Her solution to break the practice has since made her a philanthropic legend in the area.Her ingenious idea? Piglets.Murray asked the...
from IRIN News KATHMANDU - Worldwide food price hikes are particularly hitting remote villages in western Nepal, the most food-deficit and impoverished part of the country, according to food security experts."We can't grow enough food. We have no source of employment. The rising food prices are making our life very difficult,” said Kanchi Biswakarma, a villager from the remote hill district of Jumla, some 700km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu.Biswakarma said her six-member family could afford only one meal a day. "If we eat in the morning, we have to skip a meal at night," she said."My whole family has to work as daily wage labourers to find enough money to buy food," said Maneta Chettri, a villager from the remote Dolpa District. Her children had to drop out of school to help her...
Comparative Overview of the Implementation of the Directive 2003/9 of 27 January 2003 Laying Down Minimum Standards for the Reception of Asylum Seekers in the EU Member States (Odysseus Academic Network, 2007) [text]
- Note: This report was formerly confidential but has now been made available to the public on the European Commission web site.
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After 240 years of royal Hindu rule, Nepal is due to become a republic. What does this mean for the country?
A newly-elected assembly is to meet in the capital, Kathmandu, to abolish the monarchy. Thousands of people gathered on the streets of the capital and near the assembly in support of “republic day”. The Maoists, who emerged as the largest party in last month’s elections, are committed to removing the royal family. Nepal’s progress towards becoming the world’s newest republic has been marred by bombs being planted in the capital for two days running this week.
Though this is a promising start, Nepal still has a long way to go to become anything like a functioning modern democracy which benefits all its citizens, not just the Katmandu elite and rural...
Failure to Punish Those Responsible for Attacks and Killings Fuels Impunity
The government’s failure to bring to justice armed groups and security forces responsible for a string of recent violent acts in Nepal does nothing to prevent further bloodshed, Human Rights Watch said today. After a decade of armed conflict in which both Maoists and security forces conducted abductions, torture, and killings with impunity, such lawless behavior has become the norm....
Nepal’s government should rescind orders authorizing security forces to use lethal force to suppress protests associated with the Olympic torch’s relay up Mount Everest, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today. The torch is scheduled to be carried to the Mount Everest summit on the Chinese side of the border in early May....
Respect Tibetans’ Right to Peaceful Expression, Assembly
As protests over China’s abuses of Tibetans intensify in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, police continue to arbitrarily arrest, detain, and mistreat record numbers of Tibetans in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, Human Rights Watch today....
from Renewable Energy World by Alex Zahnd and Kimber McKayA pico-hydro power plant for elementary lighting in a remote and impoverished Himalayan village in Nepal shows just what can be achieved with rural electrification using renewables. Alex Zahnd and Kimber McKay explore one of the four pillars of rural development.Nepal, with a population of 28.5 million, is a developing country that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 138th of 177 countries using the Human Development Index. Some 80% of the population live in rural areas that are difficult to access and, with an estimated US $1500 annual GDP per capita, Nepal ranks among the lowest of the word’s economies at 197th out of 225.Urban Nepalis earn many times more than people in rural areas, and there is minimal cohesion between...
Government and Party Leaders Should Ensure Peaceful Vote
Nepal’s government and party leaders should ensure the long-awaited constituent assembly elections on April 10 are free of violence, candidate intimidation, and efforts to suppress voter turnout, Human Rights Watch said today. The newly elected lawmakers will draft a new constitution, and are expected to ratify a pledge by the main political parties to turn Nepal into a federal republic....
Restore Tibetans’ Rights to Assembly, Expression and Movement
The Nepali police’s recent abuses of and threats to deport Tibetan protestors in Kathmandu betray the government’s own record of restoring rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a joint letter to the government today....
Police Threaten to Return Peaceful Tibetans Protesters to China
The government of Nepal should end arbitrary detention, threats and harassment against peaceful Tibetan protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. Government forces are pre-emptively arresting Tibetans in Kathmandu as they attempt to move around the city on foot, in taxis, or on buses. The police have directly threatened several individuals in detention with deportation to China....
Nepali Government Should Stop Doing Beijing’s Bidding
The government of Nepal should cease arbitrary arrests and detentions, harassment, and the use of excessive force to silence Tibetan protesters, activists and journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Nepal’s government, which came to power after protests against the rule of King Gyanendra, should reaffirm its commitment to freedom of assembly, association, and expression....
from Gorkhapatrahe United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has agreed to provide a grant assistance of US$ 68,214,000 (equivalent to about Rs. 4358 million) to the Government of Nepal.According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance today, a Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) to this effect was signed between the Government of Nepal and the UNICEF in Kathmandu today.Under the CPAP, UNICEF will provide US$ 20,214, 000 from its Regular Resources and US$ 48,000,000 from Other Resources.The duration of this CPAP is three years (2008-2010). The overall goal of the Country Programme is the realisation of the rights of all children and women through support to the interlinked objectives of peace, reconciliation, and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Krishna...
from IRIN newsKATHMANDU, International humanitarian aid agencies have expressed concern about the political crisis and the humanitarian implications for vulnerable communities in the Terai region of southern Nepal.They said access to food supplies, health and other humanitarian services has been limited since 12 February due to an indefinite strike called by the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) - a coalition of political parties campaigning for the rights of ethnic Madhesis in the Terai.“If the crisis in the Terai goes on for another week, we will see a considerable impact on humanitarian programmes in terms of food security, the livelihoods of vulnerable communities and daily wage earners," Wendy Cue, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in...
from the American ChronicleBy Surya B. PrasaiEver year, more than 10,000 women are trafficked from Nepal into India for commercial sex work through the infamous Makwanpur alley, which is a town situated midway between Kathmandu, Nepal´s capital and the Terai region of Chitwan which border India to the south. These women are sold to Indian commercial sex parlours in the cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata involving nearly three to four middlemen. The girls who are impoverished in poverty until the ages of 12-16 years are sold off by their parents for as little as US$ 200 to the agents, who then group them in bunches of 10-15 and transport them across the porous border to the various Indian cities.In 2007, the estimated number of Nepalese commercial sex workers in India was...
from The Nepal MonitorUNICEF's annual State of the World's Children is out. This year, it focues on child survival and primary health care. Nepal offers some hope in vitamin A programms.The following is the executive summary of the "The State of the World's Children 2008" report by UNICEF. Key facts on Nepal are highlighted below:-= Nepal's under-5 mortality rate in 2006 is ranked 63, up from 54 in 2005. Under-5 mortality rate in 2006 is 59, down from 74 in 2005.-= The annual child deaths rates in Nepal were reduced by 50 per cent or more since 1990, although under-five mortality rates in these countries remain high.-= Nepal is among the 7 of some 60 countries (identified in 2005 as accounting for 93 per cent of all deaths of children under five) on track to meet the UN Millennium...
from Media for FreedomWith the increase of sanitation and hygienic coverage in the last one decade, many health-related problems have subsided. However, more than 13,000 children still die due to various water-borne diseases caused by inadequate sanitation facilities. Besides, there is a wide gap between rich and poor as eighty percent of rich population have access to sanitation against 13 percent of poor. As Nepal is celebrating year 2008 as an International Year of Sanitation, the challenge lying ahead is how the sanitation coverage can be increased in rural as well as urban areas. At a time when annual budget allocated by the government towards sanitation is negligible, Nepal's programs rely on the support of international communities as well as local NGOsBy KESHAB POUDEL For Dhanu...
Government Needs to Ensure Full Investigation
The Nepal government’s failure to protect the site of alleged army killings at Shivapuri National Park near Kathmandu signals an unwillingness to investigate past atrocities, Human Rights Watch said today....
from HemscottMUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is granting 100 mln usd to help reduce poverty in isolated areas of Nepal and ensure more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.ADB said the assistance package is halved into grants of 50 mln usd each -- a programme grant from ADB and a project grant which will be funded by ADB, the loan from OPEC Fund for International Development, Nepal government and beneficiaries.The bank said it will provide much needed resources to promote good governance and poverty reduction by improving the policy environment for inclusive growth and reconstructing and rehabilitating rural infrastructure in remote areas of Nepal.The bank said it will focus on reducing rural poverty in hill, mountain and lowland districts in...
The plight of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal may soon be resolved. UNHCR announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached to resettle as many as 60,000 Bhutanese refugees to the United States. Over 100,000 refugees have been living in camps in eastern Nepal for an extended period of time, some for as long as 17 years. Those who wish to leave and who are accepted for resettlement may be...
Draft Bill Fails to Meet International Human Rights Standards
Nepal’s draft bill for a proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission threatens to deny victims of the decade-long conflict their rights to truth, justice and reparation, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said today. The bill’s provisions on issues like amnesty and the commission’s independence from the government do not meet international legal standards....
Government Should Take Immediate Steps to End Impunity
The Nepali government should quickly implement the Supreme Court’s recent order to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the thousands of enforced disappearances in Nepal’s civil conflict, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said today....
from Reuters Alert NetACCHAM, (IRIN) - Basanti Sunar and her family have spent most of their lives migrating to work in India as labourers. Recently, however, they decided to stay in their remote Mastamandu village of Accham district in western Nepal, hoping that the end of the decade-long conflict between the state and Maoist rebels would bring development to her village.But now they regret that."We thought the peace would relieve us of our poor situation, but we have become more impoverished," said 25-year old Sunar, who now works at a stone quarry for a daily wage of US$1."This new government has failed us as well. There is no hope left for poor families like us," said Sunar as she ground the stones while breastfeeding her 18-month old son and carrying her two-year old daughter on her...
from Peace JournalismThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant worth US$1 million from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers and disadvantaged groups in eastern districts.A news release issued by the ADB said the project would help 6,000 people of Dhankuta, Morang, Saptari, and Sunsari districts to engage in micro enterprises such as off-season farming and high-value crops, production of packaging materials, semi-processing of fruits and vegetables, adding value to farm products, fishpond culture and livestock rearing.“The rural areas of Nepal's eastern hills face chronic poverty, with ethnic minorities, especially women, suffering among the worst,” the release quoted Susanne Nebel, an ADB Rural Development Specialist...
from The Nepal NewsInternally, the politicians in power are totally confused about the sense of direction they need to have. However, the most fortunate thing in the present time Nepal is that the western developed countries have shown enormous concern for the Nepalese people providing institutional as well as economic support. At a time when Nepal , which is inevitably headed towards more political crises and mysterious uprisings by various brands and groups, is passing thorough a dangerous phase in its history presenting a gloomy picture, there are some signs of hope as well. For Nepal ’s economic development, the countries of Western Europe and Japan , which have no strategic and economic interest in Nepal – have been sincerely and purposefully providing aid. Despite losing...
from The Rising NepalSecretary General of SAARC, Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji has stressed on the need of clear pro-poor policies and programmes, and determined efforts to ensure their implementation, both at national and regional levels.He said this while inaugurating the Regional Brainstorm Workshop on SAARC Development Goals (SDGs) Monitoring and Evaluation organised by the SAARC Secretariat, in collaboration with UNDP, Tuesday.Stating that poverty cannot be alleviated without the well-devised overall economic strategies, with balanced investments in human capital and social sectors, Secretary General Dorji laid stress on reducing the gap between the rich and the poor by extending resources to them.The SAARC Member states are doing their utmost to tackle poverty at the national level, he...
from One World South AsiaPoverty in Nepal fell from 42% to 31% between 1996 and 2004 despite a difficult political and conflict-ridden environment, according to a new World Bank report "Resilience Amidst Conflict."The report, which examines reasons why poverty fell, shows that even during difficult times people found means to improve their situation."This large reduction of poverty was unexpected. While certain improvements in material wellbeing were felt in the country, many thought that because of conflict there wouldn’t be improvements across the board," says Elena Glinskaya, World Bank Senior Economist who authored the report.The report, however, covers the time period until 2004 and doesn’t account for more recent political changes."It’s too early to tell what progress Nepal...