Key Takeaways:
- Five-year MoU signed by NHRC Secretary Murali Prasad Kharel and UNFPA Nepal Country Representative Sriram Haridass
- Partnership will advance gender equality, prevent GBV and strengthen SRHR protection
- Builds on 2023 cooperation, including NHRC capacity building, UPR and CEDAW support, and child marriage inquiry
- Agreement aligned with UNFPA Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and Nepal's international commitments
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have signed a new five-year agreement to strengthen human rights, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Nepal.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Kathmandu by NHRC Secretary Murali Prasad Kharel and UNFPA Nepal Country Representative Sriram Haridass.
Under the agreement, the two organisations will work to advance gender equality, prevent gender-based violence and harmful practices, and strengthen protection of SRHR. The partnership will also focus on independent monitoring, implementation and accountability.
The agreement builds on cooperation initiated in 2023, which included capacity building for NHRC on SRHR and GBV, technical support for Nepal's Universal Periodic Review and CEDAW reporting processes, and a national inquiry into the legal framework on ending child marriage.
Kharel said the renewed partnership would strengthen NHRC's capacity to monitor and investigate human rights issues and hold institutions accountable. Haridass said the new agreement would give the partnership greater strategic focus and stronger links with international human rights mechanisms.
The agreement is aligned with UNFPA's Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and Nepal's commitments under CEDAW, the Universal Periodic Review, the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals.