Nepal

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to education in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Children from Dalit communities
• Children in Madheshi province
• Children get excluded due to gender discrimination, poverty, and geographic inaccessibility of educational institutions
• People living in mountainous areas
• Education is costly and some marginalised communities, such as Dalits, cannot afford it
• People from Karnali and Suddor Pashim Province
• People from the Chepang community
• People living in poverty
• Indigenous people of the National Park
• Although constitutional provisions have been made to make secondary education free, the government still charges school fees
• Menstruating women and girls, especially in rural areas

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to food in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• People residing in remote areas of Nepal, especially the Karnali region
• People living in the Suddor Pashim province
• People who are landless
• Indigenous people of the National Park
• Madheshi communities
• People living in mountainous Himalayan regions
• Dalit communities and other socially excluded and marginalised groups, especially women
• People living in poverty
• Communities in the western parts of Nepal where people are deprived of nutritious food, especially lactating women
• Menstruating women and girls, especially in rural areas

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to health in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Healthcare quality and affordability are low
• Healthcare facilities lack hygiene and sanitation
• Pregnant women suffer as healthcare is inadequate for them, especially during childbirth
• People living in remote and mountainous regions
• Madheshi communities
• Dalit communities, especially women
• People living in the Karnali and Suddor Pashim provinces
• People living in poverty
• Women, especially young girls
• Although the government has made some medications free, they are not available in many areas

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to housing in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Dalit people are treated as 'untouchable' and are not allowed to rent or buy houses and land in some urban areas
• Dalit people and other marginalised groups mostly live in slums and squatter areas
• Madheshi communities
• People living in Karnali and Suddor Pashim province
• People living in poverty
• Other marginalised groups
• Bonded labourers
• People in squatter settlements in the Kathmandu metropolitan area are evicted on claims of illegal occupation of land

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to arbitrary or political arrest and detention by government agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Protesters, including those participating in non-violent protests
• People who oppose the government and their political ideologies are targeted, threatened, harassed, and detained
• Women, especially those demanding justice in various cases
• Marginalised communities
• Forest workers and forest-dependent communities
• People from the Tharu and Janajati communities
• Political activists, especially those associated with Maoist parties
• Dalit youth who chose to marry outside their caste are falsely accused of and arrested for crimes such as trafficking and rape
• There were reports of artists, such as comedians, being arrested for allegedly making racist remarks in their shows
• Police detained human rights defender Ruby Khan, who had been protesting and demanding justice for her colleagues who went missing

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to disappearance by government agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Cases are not publicly reported
• Members of the Maoist party
• People living in poverty

Expert respondents did not provide any specific information about who is especially vulnerable to violations of this right.

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to extrajudicial execution by government agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Cases are not publicly reported
• Dalit youth
• Human rights defenders and advocates
• Activists, particularly those from Dalit communities
• Members of the Maoist party
• People involved in demonstrations
• There are reports of increasing custodial deaths
• There are reports of a death from excessive police force during a protest by Indigenous communities in the Tarai region

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to assembly and association by the government or its agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• People who protest peacefully to demand justice are taken into police custody
• The government imposed restrictions on assembly and association during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Politically powerful and corrupt people are able to control peaceful assemblies and associations
• People who protest are often defamed, charged with false accusations, and denied a fair trial after detention
• The government often rejects permits for associations to meet
• Dalit communities
• People living in poverty and other marginalised communities, especially in rural parts of Nepal
• Non-profit and civil society organisations
• Women, especially women from rural areas who protest peacefully in Kathmandu
• Women's rights activists and families of victims who protested in Maiteghar Mandala, Kathmandu, for rape victims, were suppressed by the government
• The government restricts the general engagement of civil society, especially in digital civic spaces, by controlling their flow of funding
• Journalists, especially those who protest against corruption and the high costs of Covid-19 vaccines
• Police use excessive force during protests by Indigenous communities who demand greater protection against wild animals, especially in the Tarai region
• Police detained human rights defender Ruby Khan, who had been protesting and demanding justice for her colleagues who went missing
• Police intervened in protests by the victims of loan sharks in Kathmandu, and restricted them from taking shelter in public places
• Migrant workers, especially those who were stranded at the Nepal-India open border during the Covid-19 pandemic
• People who protest to demand justice for taxi drivers and public vehicle drivers against restrictions and unfair practices

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to opinion and expression by government agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Social media is heavily censored by the government
• Funding is restricted for civil society, especially Dalit human rights organisations
• Human rights defenders, especially women
• Human rights defenders and journalists are under threat for making critical political comments or writing on social media against the Maoists
• Journalists receive threats for writing 'controversial' news articles
• Women journalists are verbally abused and cyber-bullied
• Dalits and people from other marginalised communities are trolled online for sharing their views
• People are arrested because of their social media posts
• Members of Christian communities
• The government tried to restrict the activities of civil society organisations by introducing new bills; however, these bills were not passed in parliament
• Cyber expression and e-bidding are restricted
• Climate change workers
• Forest workers as well as people from forest-dependent and Adibasi Janajati communities
• Victims of natural disasters
• Those who write about the conflict period (1996-2006) are at risk of violence from the security forces, and their international travel is restricted
• LGBTQIA+ communities are not fully accepted in society; they are often discriminated against, and their opinions are not welcomed
• There are reports of a comedian being arrested for allegedly disturbing communal harmony