Kathmandu: Nepal’s overall human rights record kept its positive trajectory, and the country remains among the world’s top 25 percent with regard to local democracy and press freedom, says EU’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy 2023.
However, in 2023, Nepal experienced a continued parliamentary stalemate, corruption scandals, and even communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in the Tarai region, the report said, adding that discriminatory practices to the detriment of Dalits, indigenous people and other marginalized communities, and prevailing patriarchy, continue to undermine equality in Nepal.
According to the EU report, the negative impacts of climate change—rapid warming in the Himalayas and the melting of glaciers—pose increasing problems in the areas of health, safe water and sanitation and adequate food and housing, contributing to internal migration. The plight of Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees remains an issue, the report states.
The EU has described the Citizenship Act, which entered into force in June 2023, as opening the “possibility of obtaining citizenship for hundreds of thousands of stateless Nepalis.”
In the report, the EU has outlined its key focus areas in Nepal. They include protecting and empowering individuals, building resilient, inclusive and democratic societies, promoting a global system for human rights and democracy, delivering by working together, financial and political engagement, among others.
The report mentions that Nepal is committed to the rules-based international order. “Nepal remains fully committed to a rules-based international order and the principles of the UN Charter,” the report says.
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