Kathmandu, June 9

The new constitution has provisions for forming commissions to empower women and marginalised communities but the government has not enacted laws necessary to facilitate formation of these commissions.

As per the constitutional provisions, the government will have to form National Women Commission, National Dalit Commission, National Inclusion Commission, Adivasi Janajati Commission, Madhesi Commission, Tharu Commission and Muslim Commission, among others.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dilli Raj Ghimire said his ministry had already sent the final drafts of all the above mentioned commissions.

He said the line ministries would take these drafts to the Cabinet for approval, following which the government could table them in the Parliament.

Ghimire said although it was the jurisdiction of the Parliament to enact new laws, his ministry had made significant progress thus far to expedite the drafting process.

Ghimire said the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Agni Prasad Kharel was in favour of expediting the process in the Parliament.

Former vice-president of the Nepal Bar Association Surendra Kumar Mahato said the constitution clearly stated the powers, functions and duties of other commissions, but had not done so in the case of Adivasi Janajati Commission, Madhesi Commission, Tharu Commission and Muslim Commission.

The constitution states that the powers, functions and duties of these commissions would be governed by federal law.

He said the legal provisions relating to the four commissions on Adivasi Janajati, Madhesi, Tharu and Muslim could be easily changed by simple majority in the Parliament unlike other commissions whose constitutional powers and functions could be changed only through two-third majority.

Mahato said there was a provision for the formation of Madhesi Commission under the Interim Constitution yet the government did not do so even after the Supreme Court issued a writ of mandamus telling the government to do so.

“The government needs to form commissions as soon as possible. The government’s preparations, however, remains slow,” Mahato added.

Advocate Dinesh Ghale said the framers of the constitution had to state everything about these commissions in the constitution itself as was the case with other commissions, including the National Human Rights Commission.

“When the constitution states that a process will be governed by federal laws, that means the constitution gives political parties grounds for delaying the process and therefore the government is not forming the commissions,” he added.

He said if commissions were not formed soon that could send a wrong message to the public. “Had the three major parties done enough to address the grievances of marginalised communities, Madhesis and Janajatis would not have to take to the streets to protest the new constitution,” he added.

President of the Intellectual Muslims Association of Nepal Ijhar Mikrani said the government had no justifiable reason to delay formation of commissions, including the Muslim Commission.

He said the formation of Muslim Commission would ensure a separate identity for Muslims and reservation for them in the government jobs.