KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 24

The UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, will arrive Nepal on November 29 to examine the government's efforts to alleviate poverty.

"Nepal has taken impressive steps to reduce multidimensional poverty in recent years," said De Schutter, an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council to monitor, report, and advise on poverty and human rights.

"I welcome the government's commitment to further reduce it by more than half and to cover 60 per cent of the population with some form of social protection by 2024. My visit will be an opportunity to assess progress towards these goals and recommend how the government can best support those in poverty."

According to a statement issued by the council here today, De Schutter plans to look at the adequacy of the social protection system, including protections for the estimated 77 per cent of informal workers in the country, how Nepal guarantees access to land without discrimination, and the situation of groups disproportionately impacted by poverty.

De Schutter will hold policy roundtables and meetings in Kathmandu and Karnali and Lumbini provinces, as well as Province 2. He will meet national and local government officials, individuals and communities affected by poverty, as well as international and civil society organisations.

At the end of his visit, the special rapporteur will share his preliminary conclusions and recommendations at a news conference to be held on the last day of his visit on December 9. The special rapporteur will present his final report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2022, adds the statement.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 25, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.