Peace and stability remain fragile in Nepal. We are helping to lay the foundations for a peaceful and equitable restructuring of the Nepali state through informed dialogue, improved subnational governance process, and more civic engagement. We support conflict transformation at national and subnational levels; enhanced women's rights and security; accountable local governance; and broadened economic opportunity. Read country overview.
Independent Impacts and Recovery Monitoring Nepal Project
On 25 April 2015, a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Thousands were killed, tens of thousands were injured, and hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. A second major earthquake struck less than three weeks later, killing hundreds more and adding to the destruction. National and international aid providers quickly responded with emergency aid. But developing effective plans for long-term sustainable recovery requires knowledge of the needs of the affected, how they evolve over time, and the effectiveness of aid in addressing these needs. The Independent Impacts and Recovery Monitoring Nepal (IRM) project contributes to this by assessing longitudinally five issues – aid delivery and effectiveness; politics and leadership; social relations and conflict; protection and vulnerability; and economy and livelihoods, through two research components: quantitative survey and qualitative field research. Read the report series here.
CRITICAL ISSUE: DISASTER MANAGEMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Peace and stability in Nepal are fragile, despite fresh elections and the promise of a progressive constitution. Improving quality of life for all Nepalis requires sustained attention to equality and justice in economic, social, and political life through an equitable restructuring of the Nepali state, improved governance capacity at local levels, and more civic engagement. We are encouraging a smooth political transition; peaceful conflict transformation; enhanced women's rights and security; accountable local governance; and economic opportunity. Building on our long-standing experience in supporting interest-based community mediation practices in Nepal we are developing a practice manual and training courses for complex, multi-stakeholder dispute resolution. Our pioneering method is well suited to also resolve long-standing disputes in development projects, such as electricity production. Chronic power cuts every year of up to 18 hours a day force the government to declare a state of energy emergency in 2011 and pledge to eliminate the crisis through hydropower; but affected communities, investors, regulating agencies, environmentalists, and local bodies have been entangled in intractable conflict, stalling progress. Our local partner, Niti Foundation, is working with the Nepal Investment Board to design dispute resolution services for large-scale projects, including hydropower.
IMPUNITY AND POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN NEPAL
"Impunity and Political Accountability in Nepal" is the fourth of a series of reports published by The Asia Foundation since 1999 that document impunity in Nepal.
Prior reports provided analyses of the causes and scale of impunity in the context of conflict and political instability during the late 1990s; political corruption and violation of human rights during 2004 - 2006; and the state of impunity prior to and immediately after Jana Anadolan II during 2006 - 2010.
This report explores a range of political behaviors that can be understood as examples of impunity. It attempts to position impunity within the wider practice of politics and its intimate connection with the daily interactions of people in Nepal, between 2006 and 2013. The report's chapters examine the complex relationship between politics and law; the manner in which politicians and bureaucrats transgress or manipulate laws and norms to establish control over state institutions; the operations of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority; political protection and cultivation of criminal activity; the increase in politician-criminal ties after 2006; and a transitional justice process that will include prosecution as a means of combating impunity.
The case studies and analyses provided in this report convey a critical and constructive perspective on the status of impunity in post-conflict Nepal. Read the report here.