Respect of rights, discrimination and other issue
Respect of rights, discrimination and other issue
Dr Md Rajja
Nepal has a parliamentary form of government, with the Prime Minister as the head of the government and the President as the head of the state. Direct elections involving all citizens over the age 18 are required to be held every five years for the parliament. Some seats in addition to a total are reserved for women, on the basis of election by proportional representation from among parties or alliances already represented in Parliament. Parliament is the highest law making body in the country, but subject to the provisions of the constitution. The continued primacy of personal laws based on religion in matters of inheritance, marriage, divorce, maintenance and child custody and adoption discriminates against women in respect of rights within the family. De facto discrimination in opportunities for education and employment as well as access to resources and to services, in particular healthcare, further imposes various barriers on women in exercising their rights. Women face discrimination both in public and private spheres. Violence continues to be a significant feature of the everyday experience of many Nepalese women. The actual figures for domestic violence are undoubtedly higher, not least because a widespread culture of intimidation inhibits reporting. Moreover, in cases involving the transgression fear of social stigmatization discourages making such incidents public. Numerous challenges remain in ensuring child rights. One of the most serious is the pervasiveness of child labour. Under applicable laws the age bar for prohibition of child labour varies and is not effectively enforced. In practice, one in every eight children is in the country is a working child. Nearly one-fifth of children from slum and tribal areas are engaged as child labour to earn a livelihood for themselves and their families. A quarter of children engaged in child labour do not attend schools. Existing estimates also suggest that children are engaged in five hazardous industries – welding, auto-workshops, road transport, and battery recharging and recycling. They are also found in cigarette factories, construction industry including brick breaking, leather tanneries, fisheries, agriculture and informal sector and in domestic services. Between the ages of 5 and 14 years approximately million children are engaged in labour force in the nation. Prisoners’ rights are mostly disregarded in practice, despite detailed legal safeguards, with most persons incarcerated in unsafe, overcrowded cells with inadequate ventilation or sanitation. Among Continued reports of children being held in jails, as well as of foreign prisoners being detained even beyond the expiry of their sentences, and of persons with mental illness being imprisoned for prolonged periods, as well as under-trial prisoners lacking legal aid resulted in repeated directives from the High Court Division following public interest litigation by human rights organisations, but little systematic action was taken to address these issues or release the persons affected. Despite national and international obligations to protect workers’ rights, including under the new Labour Code, lax implementation and a flawed monitoring mechanism result in frequent violations. Significantly, current labour legislation does not cover workers in the informal sector, or those who are employed in domestic work.In addition to the core instruments noted above. It has signed, but not ratified, the Rome Statute on the ICC and the Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families. It has not as yet acceded to the Refugee Convention or the Convention on Protection from Enforced Disappearance. The Government must make voluntary pledges to Ensure independence of the Anti-Corruption Commission; Strengthen its efforts to meet its obligations under the treaty bodies to which it is a party; Contemplate adhering to the remaining international and regional human rights instruments; Continue to cooperate with the special procedures and mechanisms of the Council with a view to further improve its human rights situation; Continue to endeavor, through its national development policies, to ensure provision of the basic necessities of its people including food, clothing, shelter, education and primary health care; Making Strong the National Human Rights Commission as soon as possible; and Separate the judiciary and the executive as soon as feasible with respect to pledge on ensuring independence of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Dr Md Rajja
Birgunj Nepal
E-mail: arnold_raza@yahoo.com
