Bringing Nepalese voices to Europe ahead of UPR
Weeks before the Nepal Universal Periodic Review kicks off, a tour across Europe will expose the difficulties that Nepalese communities face in their daily lives to realize their right to adequate food.
Human rights records in Nepal will be reviewed for the second time by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on 4 November. Despite recommendations made by this UN mechanism in 2011, a high number of Nepalese continue to be prevented from enjoying their right to adequate food and nutrition. Ahead of the UN session, FIAN International and its section in Nepal stress the need to implement previous recommendations by adopting a comprehensive national strategy to ensure food and nutrition security for all, particularly for marginalized and disadvantaged groups of society.
According to most recent data, poverty heavily hampers households’ efforts to achieve food and nutrition security. Nepal lags behind in terms of basic nutritional indicators, and under-nutrition remains a challenge. Forceful evictions of peasant families from their lands, denying access of indigenous people to natural resources, and inadequate rehabilitation programs in emergencies, are some of the major issues. The recent earthquakes together with the widespread political instability have led the country to a more critical state.
As echoed in FIAN International’s parallel report to the UPR working group, the State of Nepal has taken considerable steps towards better recognizing the right to food, by incorporating relevant provisions in its new constitution (particularly under article 36), and has ratified all major international instruments that safeguard such a right. However, the necessary structures to achieve its effective realization have not yet been implemented.
The report also points out that related recommendations made in 2011 by the UPR remain largely unimplemented. Although the Government has developed an Action Plan, it lacks concrete commitments as well key aspects in terms of methodology, such as the indicators to measure expected outcomes.In the run up to the next UPR session, FIAN International and FIAN Nepal will bring local voices from Nepal on a tour across Europe from 2 to 9 October, coinciding with the civil society-driven pre-session on the UPR. The delegation will share their experiences and ideas on how to ensure all Nepalese citizens see their right to food realized.
For more information please contact, pabst[at]fian.org
For media enquiries, please contact, delrey[at]fian.org