The Asia Foundation - Nepal

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
May 2008

NHRC officers investigating backlog cases in Biratnagar. Photo courtesy of The Asia Foundation.

With support from the Human Rights Democracy Fund (HRDF), The Asia Foundation (the Foundation) developed and implemented the “Strengthening the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Enhancing Public Participation in Constitutional Development and the Peace Process” project in Nepal.

The program achieved tremendous results despite numerous challenges posed by the fluid political situation and difficult work environment. Perhaps most notably, the Foundation assisted the NHRC in reducing its case backlog by 44%.

Co-ordination workshop with different stakeholders during Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) monitoring in Dhangadhi. Photo courtesy of The Asia Foundation.

At the start of the project, the NHRC had in its registry 7,951 cases of HR violations. A majority of these cases were related to the decade-long insurgency between the Maoists and the government: cases of unlawful killings, disappearances and displacements being the most prevalent case categories. The Foundation worked closely with the NHRC to plan and strategize a backlog reduction effort with a target of reducing the backlog by 40 percent. By the end of the project period, the NHRC had investigated a total of 1,661 cases. In doing so, the project helped the NHRC to improve its credibility and response capacity. In turn, the NHRC was able to secure sustainable budgetary support from the Government of Nepal.

In addition, the Foundation created several targeted civic /voter education materials, including process and content manuals for civic educators as well as several posters outlining election-related themes and challenges. The Foundation also mobilized the National Forum for Peace and Development (NFPD), a coalition of local grassroots organizations that conducted over 1,000 grassroots civic /voter education meetings. The NFPD has coordinated with other civil society organizations to create the National Election Monitoring Alliance, which played an integral role in the domestic monitoring mission during the April 2008 Constituent Assembly Election.