Going wrong on rights

Nepal’s development partners could question its commitment to human rights and reconsider funding.

Nepal may have ratified various conventions on human rights, but it has fallen short of upholding them. In January 2022, during the third cycle of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Nepal accepted 196 out of 233 recommendations and committed to executing them. These recommendations covered 42 thematic areas, including issues related to child rights, sexual and gender-based violence, national human rights institutions, equity and non-discrimination. Yet, three years and four governments later, most of these promises remain unfulfilled, as they are stuck in bureaucratic limbo.