Democracy For Nepal: Dalit Diaspora Calls For 20 Percent Reservation

Friday, September 01, 2006

Dalit Diaspora Calls For 20 Percent Reservation

AdvocacyNet
News Bulletin 75 September 1, 2006

DALIT DIASPORA CALLS FOR 20 PERCENT DALIT REPRESENTATION IN NEW NEPAL GOVERNMENT

September 1, 2006, Washington, DC: Dalit advocates from among the Nepali diaspora in the United States have criticized Nepal's draft interim constitution because it does not endorse affirmative action on behalf of Dalit.

The criticism has been leveled by the Nepali-American Society for Oppressed Community (NASO) against the Interim Constitutional Drafting Committee, which presented its proposals to the Nepali government and Maoists on August 25.

NASO had earlier sent an open letter to the Committee demanding that Dalit be guaranteed 20 percent of the positions in the government and in all state bodies, proportionate to the Dalit population in Nepal.

The proposal was ignored by the Committee, which declined even to respond to the NASO letter. The Committee's draft makes no specific provision to include Dalit in political life.

Contacted by the Advocacy Project (AP), Prakash Nepal from NASO said that in the absence of special provisions, Dalit will almost certainly not be elected to the Constitutional Assembly when elections are held next April, or in subsequent parliamentary elections, because Dalit do not hold a majority in any region of the country. Mr. Nepal told AP that NASO will now lobby hard with the US Congress to push for quotas before the Assembly elections.

NASO has also called on aid agencies to allocate 20 percent of their budgets for Nepal to Dalit. Mr. Prakash said that the goal is to "eliminate the gap between the lower and upper castes," adding that this should be seen as a temporary measure that would last until a "casteless society" is created in Nepal.

The reaction of some aid agencies has been positive. Dr. Prasen Jit Khati, the policy and advocacy advisor for Oxfam in Nepal, said that all of Oxfam's programs focus on gender and social inclusion and agreed that aid should go to the most "marginalized Dalit." Even a 20 percent quota was "not enough," he said.

An official from ActionAid said that the agency's program in Nepal centers around 10 minority groups. While Dalit receive roughly 14 percent, he said, the agency might agree to increase this to 20 percent.

But an official from the World Bank told AP that the Bank is opposed to such affirmative action because it does not want to "reward" certain groups over others. An official at UNICEF also expressed concern that a 20 percent quota would discriminate against other needy sectors of the population that do not have the Dalit contacts or ability to lobby.

While the Dalit population in North America is small "estimated in the hundreds" NASO's members are influential in the Nepali diaspora. NASO also has considerable lobbying power, given its proximity to the US Congress and multilateral organizations.

Meanwhile, in another sign of the internationalization of Dalit advocacy, Pratik Pande, from the Jagaran Media Center (JMC), recently told the UN Working Group on Minorities in Geneva that the government of Nepal must ensure proportional representation for Dalit and other minorities in the new democratic Nepal.

This was first time that JMC, a partner of AP, had addressed the UN directly. JMC is also pressing the UN Development Program to use its aid to ensure that Dalit do not face discrimination at water taps in western Nepal.

Two AP interns Nicole Cordeau and Stacey Spivey have been working with JMC this summer, and another AP intern Lori Tomoe Mizuno is working with the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) in Kathmandu. One of their tasks has been to collect information, which can be disseminated by AP and used by advocates like NASO outside the country.

For more information on NASO, visit: http://www.nasocommunity.org
For a copy of NASO's open letter to the constitutional drafting committee, visit: http://www.kantipuronline.com/columns.php
For Lori's blogs, visit: http://www.advocacynet.org/cpage_view/06cocap_LorisBlogs_72_435.html
For Stacey's blogs, visit: http://www.advocacynet.org/cpage_view/06jmc2_staceysblogs_76_439.html
For Nicole's blogs, visit: http://www.advocacynet.org/cpage_view/06jmc1_NicolesBlogs_75_438.html
For more information on the Dalit, visit: http://www.advocacynet.org/cpage_view/APDiaryNepal_blog3_57_302.html

The Advocacy Project is based in Washington, DC. Phone +1 202 332 3900; fax +1 202 332 4600. To visit the AP website for information about our current projects and to make a donation online, please go to: www.advocacynet.org. For questions or comments about the AP and its projects, please email us at info@advocacynet.org.

Dalits and the Interim Constitution

A letter from the Nepali-American Society for Oppressed Community

(NASO) to the Interim Constitution Drafting Committee (ICDC)

On behalf of the Nepalese and well-wishers of Nepal living in North America, we appreciate you and your team for undertaking one of the most important and challenging tasks of developing the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2006. As aspired to by the people’s revolution, every citizen is in great hope that the Interim Constitution would lead Nepal towards a total pluralistic, inclusive and democratic nation.

There is no need to elaborate that the country now is at a critical time in its history. We have many challenges and constraints ahead but also have tremendous opportunities to change our nation forever. Any lack or negligence in taking appropriate actions can cost the country high in the long run.

Inclusive governance with total protection of human rights to every citizen of the country is undoubtedly the pre-condition for peace and sustainable development. Unfortunately, for Dalits, this has never been the case, which caused them to be socially, economically and politically excluded for a long time in the history of Nepal. This must be addressed now and the necessary steps must be taken in the Interim Constitution. The Interim Constitution must explicitly state provisions to protect Dalit men, women and children, their right to live in dignity, with empowerment and without fear. We believe that your august committee will do every effort to ensure protection to Dalits in particular.

However, in order to ensure that no opportunity is missed to address the problems faced by Dalits this time, unlike the past, we urge you to include among many provisions particularly the following provisions into the interim constitution. We strongly believe, and hope that you would pay particular attention to the fact that until and unless the socio-economic and cultural discriminations against Dalits are eradicated, Nepal can never achieve peace and prosperity. The following provisions, if clearly stated in the Interim Constitution, will mount a foundation that will facilitate the rights, dignity, and advancement of Dalits; and thus ensure a peaceful and prosperous future Nepal.

Therefore, we specifically demand the Interim Constitution to:

Confer a state apology in the preamble of the Interim Constitution against age old oppression/discrimination against Dalits.
Confirm as illegal any activity, event, incident and/or any practice that discriminates against citizens based on their caste/ethnicity, gender, creed, race, age, class, physical appearance, religion, and/or ideological inclination. Avoid totally any term/sentence/phrase or any syntax that contrasts or opposes this provision. Explicitly state Nepal as a secular nation that respects all citizens and strictly protect their human rights and dignity.
Ensure that any practice of discrimination based on caste/ethnicity, gender, creed, race, age, physical appearance, religion, and ideological inclination is severely punishable. In the case of such incidences, the perpetrator(s) must undergo at least six months to 10 years of imprisonment and fifty thousand to five million rupees of financial compensation to the victim, depending upon the degree of such discrimination.
Establish an independent constitutional body, “Dalit, Women, and Indigenous Commission”, on par with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, to ensure that the rights and dignity of these minorities or disadvantaged groups are protected.
Ensure that all Nepali citizens will have choice to adopt first and last names through their own choice. Any citizen can choose a surname on his/her own or families’ discretion or can select the first name of his/her father or mother as a surname.
Ensure that the Constitution Assembly (CA) will have proportionate (at least 20%) representatives consisting of Dalit men and women. Also, ensure representation from the Dalit community at all levels of committees or units (in addition to CA) that will be formed in the development process of a new constitution.
Establish and ensure effective implementation of Affirmative Action (AA) in hiring and promoting employees in all levels of any organization (both government and private/non-government), company, and institution to enhance Dalit men, women and children’s advancement and inclusion in the society.
In addition to AA, include the following specific compensatory provisions for Dalits in the Interim Constitution:
- Ensure proportionate (at least 20% at this time) representation from Dalit men and women in all legislative, administrative, and judiciary institutions of the state.
- Ensure free education to poor Dalit children up to high school (X grade). Ensure proportionate (at least 20% at this time) number of reserved quotas in college and university scholarships to qualified Dalit students.
- Ensure that a proportionate number of (at least 20% this time) all public employment opportunities are provided to qualified Dalit men and women.
Ensure that at least 20% of all development programs/projects of GOs/NGOs/INGOs/Bilateral/Multilateral Agency or any organization working in the development sector is devoted for Dalit empowerment/development.

We sincerely hope that your august committee will understand the seriousness of the ongoing Dalit oppression, and facilitate eradicating the conservative dehumanizing discriminatory practices by incorporating the above mentioned provisions into the Interim Constitution. These provisions are not only the voice of people living in North America but also complement the voice of Dalits living everywhere in Nepal. If these provisions are ignored, Dalits who make up 20% of the country’s population, will be bound to lose hope in the existing government and their leaders, and will be forced to take an alternative course of action for their human rights, justice, and freedom.

NASO to the ICDC

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