Speaking at a national seminar in the capital Janajati leaders and human rights activists today stressed the need to establish a National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

Chief of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Lena Sundh stated that two United Nations experts and members of the Sub-Commission, who recently visited Nepal, had suggested that it would be useful for leaders of indigenous communities to look beyond the upcoming electoral process and consider more broadly possible strategies to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples – not only civil and political rights – are recognisd respected in the future Nepal. She quoted the experts to have said that one such strategy would be the formation of national institution on indigenous peoples.

Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights Suhas Chakma said, “The National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) has failed to address the concerns of the indigenous peoples because of its failure to take rights based approach.”

He added that unlike the National Human Rights Commission and National Dalit Commission, the NFDIN cannot intervene in the case of violations of the rights of indigenous peoples.

“In this critical transition phase, an interim constitution of Nepal has been adopted, amendments to the Interim Constitution have been made and there is no reason as to why further amendments cannot be made to establish a constitutionally empowered National Commission on Indigenous Peoples if the political parties are serious about ensuring the rights of these people,” he added.

The seminar adopted a model law on the establishment of a National Commission for Indigenous Peoples, inter alia, to serve as the primary agency to formulate and implement policies and programmes for development of the Janjatis, to monitor, evaluate and make necessary interventions for effective implementation of the programmes by various departments/agencies of the government, to monitor, review, and assess the conditions of indigenous peoples including existing laws and to propose relevant laws, to ensure the enjoyment of the rights of indigenous peoples by intervening in cases of violations of their rights with powers of a civil courts and that the decisions of such a commission can be appealable only before the Supreme Court of Nepal.

The seminar was organised jointly by Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network (AITPN) and Kirat Welfare Society (KWS).