KATHMANDU, JULY 13

Amnesty International Nepal and Mahila Ekata Samaj jointly organised a programme titled 'Right to Adequate Housing, Forced Eviction, and Human Rights Issues' today in the capital.

The main objective of the programme was to inform and discuss important legal and policy provisions with key mediapersons on the people's right to adequate housing and to make them aware of the issue of forced evictions from a human rights lens.

The right to housing is one of the most fundamental human rights. It has also been enshrined in Article 37 of the Constitution of Nepal as a fundamental human right, with the government subse-quently enacting the Right to Housing Act in 2018.

However, the Act fails to fully meet Nepal's international human rights obligations concerning the right to adequate housing, leaving hundreds of families, predominantly from marginalised communities or those living in informal settlements, at risk of forced eviction.

'As far as the right to adequate housing is concerned, the constitution and laws seek meaningful coordination and cooperation between the federal, provincial and local levels. There have been some positive achievements in terms of identification and management due to cooperation and equality among most of the local levels and the National Land Commission,' said advocate Raju Prasad Chapagai, adding, 'KMC and some other local levels are exceptions.

Kathmandu metropolis is seen as intolerant and arbitrary.'

On the one hand, Kathmandu metropolis has entered into an agreement with the Land Commission to identify landless squatters and unorganised residents and prepare a list and manage them properly. On the other hand, it has been trying to forcibly evict the landless squatters and unorganised squatters by deploying KMC police and using dozers without identifying or collecting data.

'This in itself is contradictory.

There is no separate legal arrangement for certain local levels and it cannot be constitutional. There is no alternative to finding a solution within the framework of the rule of law,' said Chapagai.

He further said, 'The responsibility of ensuring human rights and fundamental rights belongs to the three levels of government. Among them, the federal government has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.'

'In the light of the constitution, the federal laws designed to implement fundamental rights and obligations under the international treaty agreements to which Nepal is a party empowers the federal government to take immediate and appropriate steps to find a reasonable solution to the problems seen now. Otherwise, the mockery of the constitution, federal laws and international commitments to human rights will continue and people's trust and confidence in the state will be broken.'

Likewise, Amnesty International Nepal's Director Nirajan Thapaliya, said, 'We are trying to hold the authorities accountable on forceful eviction by cooperating and collaborating with the media so that we can bring the essential issues of the landless and marginalised communities'

The programme was attended by various stakeholders from media fraternity and civil society organisations.

They raised the issues of human rights and carelessness on the part of the government.

They also expressed their support for proper cooperation and coordination among the authorities concerned so as to protect human rights.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 14, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.A version of this article appears in the print on July 14, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.