Assessing the Impacts of Advocacy Initiatives On INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IN NEPAL FOCUSING ON THE FIFTEENTH Five-Year Plan 2019/20- 2023/24 Published on March 2021 by Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP) Anamnagar, Kathmandu PO Box No.: 11179 Contact: +977 01 4268510 Email: [email protected] Website: www.lahurnip.org ISBN: 978 - Copyright © Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP) Editing and Layout PagePerfect, Dillibazar, Kathmandu Supported by: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: (+45) 53 73 28 30 Email: [email protected] Website: www.iwgia.org Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) Chiang Mai 50210, Thailand Tel. +66 (0) 53343539\ Email: [email protected] Website: www.aippnet.org Funded by: European Union “The views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.” Assessing the Impact of Advocacy Initiatives On INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IN NEPAL FOCUSING ON THE FIFTEENTH Five-Year Plan 2019/20- 2023/24 assessing the impacts of advocacy initiatives on indigenous Peoples’ Development agenda Acknowledgements This book in the result of the endeavors of Nepalese indigenous peoples’ advocacy and activism for the realization of rights and equitable access to state resources through planned development of indigenous peoples at a time when Government of Nepal was formulating 15th Five Year Plan (2019/20- 2024/25).It is the outcome of collaborative efforts of indigenous leaders, intellectuals, development workers and activists belonging to indigenous peoples’ organizations, professional and socio-cultural organizations, indigenous grassroots organizations and non-indigenous professionals and officials. It is also a status document of indigenous peoples’ struggle for identity, right and resources. We express our special thanks to the leaders (officials) and activists of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities(NEFIN) and their affiliated organizations of various levels (provinces and districts and municipalities) who visited throughout the country, collected information and suggestions (needs, expectations, opinions), developed indigenous development plan and launched advocacy for the incorporation in the government’s periodic plan. We acknowledge the contributions of indigenous peoples’ organizations and their experts/advisors for the formulation of indigenous peoples’ development plan and intensifying advocacy with the concerned government agencies of the centre and provincial level. The main author of this book is Dr. Chaitanya Subba to whom we are grateful and extend special thanks for his dedicated contribution. We highly appreciate the writers of the invaluable reports of Status of Social Inclusion in Nepal (SOSIN)- Prof. Yogendra B. Gurung, Dr. Meeta S. Gurung, Dr. Binod Pokharel, Dr. Dhanendra V. Shakya whose works have been extensively referred or used. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Dambar Chemjong, Project Coordinator, SOSIN and Head of the Central Department of Anthropology and Dr. Mukta S. Tamang Research Director who have kindly commissioned and encouraged us to use SOSIN data and related publications in our endeavor. We are grateful to European Union (EU), Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and International Labour Organization (ILO) for support to formulate indigenous peoples’ development plan with the wider participation of representatives of indigenous peoples, launch advocacy campaign for the incorporation of indigenous development plan in the national periodic plan, carry out assessment study of the advocacy outcomes and to appraise indigenous peoples’ achievements of SDGs in comparison of other caste, cultural and regional groups. Special appreciation must be given to LAHURNIP officials and staff for their contribution from their respective fields of responsibilities for the success of this study. They include Vice-Chairperson Advocate Dinesh Ghale, Secretary Advocate Shankar Limbu, Treasurer Advocate Bhim Rai among officials and Director Tahal B. Thami We specially thank to Durga Mani Rai (Yamphu) for his immense effort of mobilizing IPOs in formulating indigenous development plan and launching advocacy activities and highly iii assessing the impacts of advocacy initiatives on indigenous Peoples’ Development agenda acknowledge the contribution of Manoj Rai (Athpahariya) without whose hard work of collecting and scrutinizing the NPC and other relevant documents and timely providing secretarial support for this study. Our thanks go to Mr. David Nathaniel Berger , Advisor on Data Generation and Analysis, IWGIA and Ms. Guangchunliu Gangmei, Programme Coordinator, AIPP who helped us from the technical aspect of this publication. Advocate Shanti Kumari Rai Chairperson LAHURNIP iv assessing the impacts of advocacy initiatives on indigenous Peoples’ Development agenda Preface The indigenous peoples of Nepal have been constantly advocating for inclusive and justifiable development in the nation. It is plausible to maintain inclusive democracy, equality and prosperity. Nepal has witnessed discrimination and oppression against historically marginalized communities based on ethnicity, race, sex, region, religion. Indigenous Peoples of Nepal is one of the major sections of the society; accommodate approx. 35.81% national populations, marginalized from the development process of the nation. Meaningful participation of historically marginalized communities in the planning process is inevitable to ensure equal development of all sections of the society. For that the periodic plan of the government of Nepal is expected to be inclusive from its planning process to implementation and monitoring. But it is far from the aspirations of the indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities. However, indigenous peoples have been collectively acting to ensure the planning document inclusive and participatory. For this, the indigenous peoples’ organization, National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN); Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF); Youth Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, Nepal (YFIN, Nepal); Nepal Indigenous Disabled Association (NIDA); Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities Journalists’ (FoNIJ); Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP); have restlessly worked to support the National Planning Commission and intervene in the planning process to make it inclusive. Remarkably, the hard work of Dr. Chaitanya Subba, former member of NPC, and his team has been instrumental to prepare a concrete document. Most importantly, these organizations have collectively prepared a “Proposed Five Years (2019/20 – 2023/24) Indigenous Peoples’ Development Plan” and presented to the respective authority responsible for preparation of the Fifteenth Plan (Fiscal Year 2019/20 – 2023/24), such as NPC, planning commissions in the provinces and local governments. In the course of preparation this document consultations have been made with the representatives of NPC, provincial governments, local governments, indigenous peoples organizations from federal to local levels. Basically, the document is prepared to enhance inclusive development and democracy. The Indigenous Navigator- a set of tools to systematically monitor the level of recognition and implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (ILO C. 169) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) are guiding international human rights instruments pertaining to indigenous peoples for formulation of this document. The present report is the comparative analysis of the final planning document of the government of Nepal and the proposed fifth year plan of the indigenous peoples. The first chapter deals with the details of the proposed indigenous peoples’ development to be incorporated in the NPC’s 15th Plan. It was prepared as a development advocacy document for Nepalese indigenous peoples to pursue all three levels of government, primarily focusing on central (federal level) government. For this purpose, it was widely used. The second chapter contains the major development outlines of five years of the Government’ 15 Plan that are directly and indirectly related to indigenous peoples v assessing the impacts of advocacy initiatives on indigenous Peoples’ Development agenda (Janajati/Asivasi Janajati/ disadvantaged communities/marginalized and endangered ethnicities). Apparently, it is evident that after the persistent initiatives of indigenous peoples many issues/ demands and activities, which were presented to the NPC in time, have been accommodated to a some extent in the planning document. However, the demand of separate section for the development of indigenous peoples in the five-year plan document of government it has not been accepted. The planning document lately published has indicated that there are some spaces for the incorporation of indigenous development demands in future for which IPOs should strive continuously. The third chapter presents the glimpse of the analysis of the development strategies and working policies scattered throughout the 15th plan document which are the bases of planned programs or projects. In the chapter, it is argued that such consideration is a positive signal and set precedents