Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Nepal A Civil Society Parallel Report Review Period: April 2007 – July 2013 Submitted to Pre-Sessional Working Group United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Geneva, Switzerland October 2013 Prepared by: ESCR Committee Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Centre (HRTMCC) Nepal ESCR Committee Coordinator Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) A Civil Society Report on ESCR, 2013, Nepal Overall coordination: Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Centre (HRTMCC) Secretariat/INSEC Parallel report process coordination: Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) Draft contributors: Mr Jagat Basnet, HRTMCC ESCR Committee, CSRC Mr Birendra Adhikari, HRTMCC ESCR Committee, RRN Ms Samjah Shrestha, HRTMCC Secretariat/INSEC Special contributors: Ms Bidhya Chapagain Mr Prakash Gnyawali Committee on ESCR: Coordinator: Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) Members: Lumanti Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) Public Health Concern Trust (PHECT) Physician for Social Responsibility, Nepal (PSRN) Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) Forest Resources Studies and Action Team (Forest Action) Centre for Protection of Law and Environment (CELP) © ESCR Committee, HRTMCC, 2013, Nepal The Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Centre (HRTMCC) is a coalition of 63 human rights organizations, functioning as a joint forum for all human rights NGOs in Nepal. It monitors and disseminates information on the status of state obligations to the UN human rights treaties in the form of parallel reports as well as other publications. HRTMCC is also active in domestic lobbying for the protection and promotion of human rights. HRTMCC has previously submitted parallel reports to the UN treaty bodies monitoring CERD, CAT, ICESCR, CEDAW as well as the ICCPR. Materials from this report can be reproduced, republished and circulated with due acknowledgement of the source. We would appreciate being informed of the use of materials and receiving a copy of the document where possible. ii A Civil Society Report on ESCR, 2013, Nepal FOREWORD Nepal continues to undergo a prolonged transition period. It is currently preparing for elections to its legislature, the Constituent Assembly (CA), and to adopt a new constitution that is expected to complete the socio-political changes that have occurred since the end of the conflict in 2006. Earlier attempts by the CA between 2008 and 2012 failed and triggered widespread political instability, as well as economic and social disruption. Despite these challenges, the people of Nepal still have hope. National politics are expected to stabilize and provide for economic growth and social cohesion. As such, the 2007-2013 period is now marked as a special time in Nepal's history. As a coalition of Nepal's civil society organisations, the Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Centre (HRTMCC) has been consistently monitoring the situation of human rights throughout Nepal. Eight Committees within the HRTMCC monitor the realization of the rights codified in all the major UN conventions and covenants to which Nepal is a state party. This report presents the status and trends of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) in Nepal in the April 2007 through July 2013 period. It analyses the ESCR-related state legislation, policies, programmes, and institutional mechanisms, as well as their implementation. This is the third time HRTMCC has provided supplementary and parallel information to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). The HRTMCC submitted an assessment report to the Pre-Sessional Working Group in 2006, and a parallel report to CESCR in 2007. The report is the outcome of the collective efforts of a range of organisations and individuals. We would like to thank all members of the HRTMCC ESCR Committee for preparing the report. Our sincere thanks are given to the participants of consultative meetings who provided us with firsthand information as well as insights on the realization of ESCR in Nepal. Thanks are due to everyone who joined the focus group discussions, individual interviews, and discussions throughout the country. We are also thankful to all the organisations and individuals who helped us by sharing their information, insights, and analyses that feed into this report. Our special thanks go to the members of the writing committee, special contributors and the seasoned insightful guidance from Subodh Raj Pyakurel from HRTMCC secretariat to enrich the quality of the report is highly appreciated. We also thank all the staff members of the HRTMCC Secretariat/INSEC, CSRC and RRN for their tireless efforts in producing the report. We would like to extend our thanks to Ms Elisabeth Wickeri, Executive Director of Leitner Centre, for providing her editorial inputs and to the the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and International Land Coalition, for their kind cooperation and support to prepare this report. HRTMCC hopes that the report will be useful for the UN CESCR and other relevant agencies to understand and act on behalf of the international community to help improve the situation of ESCR in Nepal. Thank you. ESCR Committee HRTMCC i A Civil Society Report on ESCR, 2013, Nepal TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................................. i ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 STATUS OF ESCR ....................................................................................................................................... 3 ARTICLE 1 - RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION ............................................................................... 15 ARTICLE 2 - EQUALITY OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ........................................... 19 ARTICLE 3 - EQUALITY OF RIGHTS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ............................................ 26 ARTICLE 4 - LIMITATIONS ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS IN TIME OF PUBLIC EMERGENCY ............................................................................................................................. 31 ARTICLE 6 - RIGHT TO WORK .............................................................................................................. 34 ARTICLE 7 - RIGHT TO ENJOYMENT OF JUST AND FAVORABLE CONDITIONS OF WORK ... 41 ARTICLE 8 - RIGHT TO FORM TRADE UNIONS ................................................................................. 46 ARTICLE 9 - RIGHT TO SOCIAL SECURITY, INCLUDING SOCIAL INSURANCE ........................ 49 ARTICLE 10 – PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO THE FAMILY ................................................ 54 ARTICLE 11 - RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING ................................................ 58 ARTICLE 12 - RIGHT TO ENJOYMENT OF THE HIGHEST ATTAINABLE STANDARD OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH ..................................................................................................... 65 ARTICLES 13 AND 14 - RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND PROVISION OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION .............................................................................................................................................. 70 ARTICLE 15 - RIGHT TO CULTURAL LIFE, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................................... 79 RATING ON REALIZATION OF ICESCR IN NEPAL (2007-2013) ....................................................... 84 ANNEXES ................................................................................................................................................... 85 Annex 1: Organizational Structure of HRTMCC ........................................................................................ 87 Annex 2: Reports of National and Regional Consultation Meetings .......................................................... 88 Annex 3: An Overview on Status of Implementation of CESCR Concluding Comments ......................... 94 Annex 4: An Overview on Implementation of ESCR-related UPR Recommendations ........................... 100 ii A Civil Society Report on ESCR, 2013, Nepal ACRONYMS CA Constituent Assembly CESCR UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement CSO Civil society organization CSRC Community Self Reliance Centre CTEVT Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training DoFE Department of Foreign Employment ESCR Economic, Social and Cultural Rights FIR First information report GECU Gender Empowerment and Coordination Unit GoN Government of Nepal HABITAT Human Settlements Programme HDI Human Development Index HRTMCC Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Centre IC Interim Constitution of Nepal ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ILO International Labour Organization INGO International Non-Governmental Organization INSEC Informal Sector Service Centre JED Judgment