Nepal - The Asia Foundation

Nepal

SUPPORTING THE PEACE PROCESS AND

POLITICAL TRANSITION

After the decade-long Maoist conflict, Nepalishave been engaged in restructuring the state andwriting a constitution that provides for a respon-sive government and assures services and opportu-nities to all citizens. Following the November2013 elections, political parties must tackle con-tentious issues on the design and implementationof a new constitution as well as a federal systemof government. The Asia Foundation in Nepalassists the achievement of that broad objectivethrough programs that support national politicaldialogue processes and subnational peace-buildingactivities.

Prior to the 2013 election, the Foundation’sNepal Transition to Peace (NTTP) Forumworked with major political parties, youth politi-cians, and civil society groups to create an openenvironment for elections, and provided supportfor dialogues with dissident groups. Since then,the Foundation has also been supporting the tran-sition of the NTTP Forum into an independentnational peace institute (NTTP Institute).

Under the Consortium for Elections and PoliticalProcess Strengthening (CEPPS) program, theFoundation implemented activities to enhance thelegislative capacity of the Parliament Secretariat;

significantly upgraded the parliament’s media cen-ter; and improved strategic communications andpublic outreach. We promoted public engagementin the legislative process through periodic bulletins, awebsite, town hall meetings, and weekly radio showsand built the capacity of civil society organizationsto conduct social audit of relevant legislations.

CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION AND

PEACEBUILDING

The Asia Foundation is engaged in a long-termeffort to help establish a culture of peace in Nepal,built on respect for diversity, human rights, andnonviolent responses to conflict. The NTTPForum brings major political parties and key civilsociety leaders to an informal and confidential dia-logue process that supports political negotiationson implementation of the Comprehensive PeaceAccord (CPA), constitutional development, peacebuilding, and transitional justice. We also supportthe Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction in prepa-rations to launch and activate transitional justicestructures such as the Truth and ReconciliationCommission and local peace committees.Concurrently, we have been working on securitysector reform to strengthen the credibility of public security institutions during the transition.

To support peacebuilding at the local level, wepromote interest-based, facilitated mediation in

The Foundation

supported town hall

meetings on

“Investment Climate

of Nepal” across 45

urban locations.

The Foundation's

Community Mediation

Program maintains

a success rate of 85%

for resolution

of 25,000

registered cases.

NEPAL

Peace and stability in Nepal remain fragile despite fresh constituent assembly elections and the promiseof a progressive constitutional framework. Programs that lay the foundations for an equitable restructuringof the Nepali state, improved governance capacity at local levels, and more civic engagement are critically important. The Asia Foundation is supporting and encouraging a smooth political transition;conflict transformation at national and subnational levels; enhanced women’s rights and security;accountable local governance; and broadened economic opportunity.

Since 2011, the

CTIP program has

succeeded in securing

convictions for 59

perpetrators of

human trafficking.

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NEPALG.P.O. Box 935Bhat BhateniKathmandu, NepalTel: + 977 (1) 441-8345Fax: +977 (1) 441-5881Email: [email protected]

www.asiafoundation.org

134 communities in 12 districts. As of March2014, our community mediation program hasregistered 25,000 disputes of which over 85 per-cent have been successfully resolved. The programcontributes to increased access to justice, buildspositive state-community relations, and promotesa culture of peaceful dispute resolution at thecommunity level. We also facilitated the forma-tion of Community Mediators’ Society (CMS), a national-level mediator network, which aids inharmonizing and sustaining high-quality media-tion practices. We support the implementation of the new Mediation Act and the promotion ofmediation practice in close coordination with theSupreme Court’s Mediation Council and variousministries of the Nepali government.

At the subnational level, the Foundation supportsa dialogue forum, Sambad Samuha, in multi-eth-nic enclaves with divergent claims on identity andfederal boundaries.

WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND SECURITY

The Asia Foundation aims to increase women’sopportunities for fuller participation in social,political, and economic life by incorporating gender perspectives in policymaking, combatinggender-based violence (GBV), and trafficking ofwomen and girls. The Foundation works withyoung political leaders and government officialsto enhance their capacity to respond to and sup-port women’s leadership in national-level politicaland public policy processes.

The Foundation’s Combating Trafficking inPersons (CTIP) program addresses the core issuesrelated to women’s security, while promotingopportunities for enhanced economic and socialparticipation of women and girls from vulnerableand marginalized communities at the local andnational levels. Operating in six trafficking-pronedistricts in Nepal, the program emphasizes local-level interventions coupled with national-levelreform to combat human trafficking.

The program works with government stakehold-ers to create an enabling policy and structural environment to combat trafficking. With the program’s support, an annual TIP Report is pub-lished by the Nepali government; a national-level Anti-Human Trafficking Unit has been estab-lished within the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare; 170 local-level village com-mittees on Controlling Human Trafficking are now active; and capacity of law enforcement offi-

cials and judiciary has been strengthened to betteraddress issues related to victim/witness protection. Recognizing the linkages between human traffick-ing and labor migration, the Foundation supportsinterventions that protects the rights of migrantworkers throughout the migration cycle. We pub-lished research on labor migration patterns acrossSouth Asia and supported regional policy advocacyworkshops advocating a common South Asiaframework for migrant worker rights. We alsoprovided support for the Government of Nepal’sfirst-ever labor migration status report.

BROADENING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

The Asia Foundation has conducted analyses oflocal government budget allocations—critical topromoting broad economic development. Theanalyses found that costly accountability tools didnot lead to improved governance given the wide-spread collusive practices, weak institutions, anduncertain political climate. We published studieson the Nepali policymaking process, politicaleconomy of local governance and public security,political constraints on rapid hydropower devel-opment, politics and accountability, and politicsof resource allocation in local government bodies.

The Foundation provided support to theInvestment Board of Nepal for cross-countrycomparative analyses of fiscal incentives for FDIand the practice of royalty distribution to localcommunities. We also supported “InvestmentClimate of Nepal,” a month-long outreach pro-gram, to discuss the investment climate and rele-vant legislations of Nepal with local communities.

BOOKS FOR ASIA

The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia programsupports the expansion of English-language readership in Nepal, helps to advance professionalknowledge, and builds vocational and researchskills among children and young adults. In 2014, a total of 31,071 books were distributed to 188recipients including educational institutions, non-profit organizations, government agencies, publiclibraries, and training institutes in 39 districtsacross Nepal. We partnered with NGO networks,public libraries, and the District Education Officesof the Ministry of Education of the Government of Nepal to expand our books distribution to hard-to-reach areas throughout the country. Wehave also purchased and distributed 285 specialcollections of books to research institutions, judi-cial bodies, and government institutions.

11/2014

The Asia Foundation

is a nonprofit international

development organization

committed to improving

lives across a dynamic

and developing Asia.

Headquartered in San

Francisco, The Asia

Foundation works through

a network of offices in

18 Asian countries and in

Washington, DC. Working

with public and private

partners, the Foundation

receives funding from

a diverse group of

bilateral and multilateral

development agencies,

foundations, corporations,

and individuals.

In Nepal, The Asia Foundation’s programs are also funded by the Australian, British, Danish, and Swiss governments.