|
|
O> Briefing Paper on Dalit Rights and Democracy Crisis in Nepal
This position paper was prepared for briefing to the United Kingdom Parliament House of Commons on 09 March 2005, on behalf of Dalit National (NGO) Federation-DNF, Nepal, by National President Mr. D.B. ‘Sagar’ Bishwakarma.
O> UN Human Rights Commission to appoint Two Special Rapporteurs on Caste Discrimination
- The UN Commission on Human Rights today adopted by consensus a decision to appoint two Special Rapporteurs to tackle the entrenched problem of caste-based discrimination, says a media release from International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN)[Geneva, April 19 2005]. The Commission was endorsing an earlier decision taken by its Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the problem and find solutions for its eradication. This is the first time a political body of the UN has referred directly to the problem, and the decision is seen as a crucial step in the campaign for justice for South Asia’s Dalits and communities suffering from similar forms of discrimination around the world.
- The Sub-Commission will now undertake a 3-year study, led by two experts given the title of ‘Special Rapporteurs’, and will draft a set of Principles and Guidelines to eliminate this form of discrimination.
- The decision of the Commission comes in the wake of an International Consultation held in Kathmandu last year on how to address the problem. The Consultation adopted the Kathmandu Dalit Declaration, which provides concrete proposals for not only governments, the UN and development agencies, but also the private sector, trade unions and international financial institutions. One of the proposals has now been fulfilled in the form of the appointment of the Special Rapporteurs. The relevant UN documents and the Kathmandu Dalit Declaration are available at www.idsn.org.
- Links for Related Documents:
Full Text of the Resolution.
Media Release of IDSN
O> White Paper for Elimination of Untouchability.[This requires Acrobat Reader]
Through signing this White Paper against Untouchability, 13 political parties of Nepal vow to commit to elimination of untouchability towards attaining social justice. This explicit commitment from the part of democratic parties is unprecedented event in the history of Nepal, and is expected to be translated into practice on the ground.
O> Executive Summary of INTERNATIONAL CONSULTATION on Caste-Based Discrimination: Establishing Dalit Rights in the Contemporary World; the Role of Governments, the United Nations and the Private Sector
November 29 – December 1, 2004, Kathmandu, Nepal.
[This requires Acrobat Reader]
O> KATHMANDU DALIT DECLARATION: INTERNATIONAL CONSULTATION on Caste-Based Discrimination:Establishing Dalit Rights in the Contemporary World: the Role of Governments, the United Nations and the Private Sector
November 29 – December 1, 2004, Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Kathmandu Dalit Declaration was released on conclusion of International Consultation on Caste Based Discrimination jointly organized in Kathmandu by the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) and Dalit NGO Federation (DNF, an apex body of 175 Dalit NGOs of Nepal).[This requires Acrobat Reader]
O> Nepal Government withdraws nomination of a Dalit woman for a UN Committee
The nomination of Durga Sob’s candidature to the election of nine members of the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) was withdrawn by the Government of Nepal (Click here to see UN Secretary General’s Note on this matter). The election was for replacing those members whose term was to expire on 19 January 2004. Sob, who served as the first Member-Secretary of National Dalit Commision in Nepal, with a past service record of a dedicated activist for the cause of Dalits in Nepal was highly qualified and genuine candidate for the post contested. If the nomination was pushed forward by the Government, it would have been a good opportunity to place a Dalit woman in the international committee showing to the world that Nepal has a policy of affirmative action in place.
O> UN COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (UNCERD):
Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Nepal, U.N. Doc. CERD/C/64/CO/5 (2004)
This document available from the University of Minnesota's Human Rights Library website is the unedited version of CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION: Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: NEPAL.
O> UN COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (UNCERD):
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION: NEPAL [MS Word file]
This document contains the fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports of Nepal, due on 1 March 2000 and 2002 respectively, submitted in one document. For the fourteenth periodic report of Nepal and the summary records of the meetings at which the Committee considered that report, see document CERD/C/337/Add.4 and CERD/C/SR.1415, 1427.
O> Dalit NGO Federation's 5th National Annual General Meeting: Nepalgunj Declaration [PDF file] [MS Word file]
O> Dalit NGO Federation's 5th National Annual General Meeting: Nepalgunj Declaration [PDF file] [MS Word file]
O> Situational Analysis of Dalits in Nepal
Situational Analysis of Dalits in Nepal, a report which forms the Part I of National Dalit Strategy Report prepared for National Planning Commission, HM's Government, Kathmandu, Nepal by Dilli Ram Dahal, Yogendra Bahadur Gurung, Bidhan Acharya, Kamala Hemchuri & Dharma Swarnakar (May 2002).
Please click here -> [The Report] (This requires Acrobat Reader)
O> Contemporary Issues of Dalits in Nepal:
The following pages make a working paper presented during Samajik Ekata Divas 2056 organized in Rupendehi outlining the brief history, root causes and current status of socio-economic and political oppressions of Dalits through age-old caste discrimination in Nepal. A must-read document (in Nepali language) for those who want to have insights into current problems of Nepalese Dalits.
[Page 1][Page 2][Page 3][Page 4][Page 5 ][Page 6 ][Page 7][Page 8]
O> Civil Code of Nepal- as published in Gorakhapatra National Daily in 1992 BS (1935 AD):
The following pages are excerpts from Section Five of Nepal Civil Code- as published in 1992 BS (1935 AD) in Gorakhapatra National Daily, the mouthpiece of Nepal Government that legalized differential judicial treatments to citizens of Nepal based on hierarchical caste discrimination. The black law enforced by Rana regime was effective until 2020 B.S.
O> A MSc Degree Thesis in the field of Regional and Rural Development Planning relating to Dalit issues:
Thesis Title: PARTICIPATION OF DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE (DALIT) IN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF BAGMATI INTEGRATED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROJECT, MAKAWANPUR DISTRICT, NEPAL
Author: Dandi Ram Bishwakarma
Thesis Submitted to: Asian Institute of Technology, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Thailand
Year: 2002
URL link: http://www.carenepal.org/publications/dandiram.PDF
"....Findings of the study revealed that the
socio-economic status of the settlers closely
follows the caste/ethnic hierarchy. "
".....Considerable disparity has been noticed in many aspects of the lives between different caste/ethnic groups. Dalits, who lay at the bottom of the social structure, are the minority populace. They are most disadvantaged from economical and social points of view. They feature with high illiteracy, lowest economic status, nearly landless and struggling with food scarcity for about half of the year. Moreover, they predominately rely on traditional occupations, which are being threatened by manufactured goods and their traditional skills."
O> Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works Relevant to Anti-Untouchability Movements in Nepal:
Contributed by Laurie Ann Vasily
Please click here >> The Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography is by no means exhaustive of the academic and popular press literature available on these subjects. Rather it is an initial attempt to identify and annotate some academic resources both broadly and specifically relevant to anti-untouchability social movements in Nepal.
O> COUNTRY REPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION FOR ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (Prepared with Special Reference to Dalit Community of Nepal) – 1994:
This was a Nepal Report for the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, prepared by Dalit activists themselves for submission to the concerned committee of the United Nations’ Convention.
Please click here >> The Report Contents
O> Nepal SLC 2028 (1972): RESULTS OUT IN GORAKHAPATRA:Drona Prakash Rasali, a student from Padmodaya High School, Kathmandu, was declared Board First in Nepal's School Leaving Certificate (S.L.C) Examinations held in 2028 B.S. (1972 A.D). He was born in a Dalit community of Palpa district of Nepal. >>>>> The Headline News in Gorakhapatra, the country's national vernacular daily newspaper [May 11, 1972].
Drona Prakash Rasali
Related story (GORAKHAPATRA, June 24, 2004): Dr. Drona Prakash Rasali: Parishram Ra Prerana
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
![>>>>> The Headline News in Gorakhapatra, the country's national vernacular daily newspaper [May 11, 1972].](http://www.nepaldalitinfo.20m.com/cgi-bin/i/archives/SLC1972.jpg){kind=link}