Nepal: Government

Principal Government Officials

Chief of State: President Ram Baran Yadav
Head of Government: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal

A 10-year Maoist insurgency--punctuated by cease-fires in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006--began in 1996. After King Gyanendra announced the reinstatement of Parliament on April 24, 2006, the Maoists declared a 3-month unilateral cease-fire on April 26, 2006 which the new Koirala government reciprocated on May 3, 2006. The Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists signed five agreements, culminating in the comprehensive peace agreement of November 21, 2006, effectively ending the insurgency. However, Maoist violence and intimidation continued in spite of the agreement.

The main agenda of the SPA and the Maoists was to hold a Constituent Assembly (CA) election, with the primary responsibility of drafting and promulgating a new constitution defining the future political system in Nepal. The interim constitution, adopted on January 15, 2007, expressed full commitment to democratic ideals and norms, including competitive multi-party democracy, civil liberties, fundamental human rights, adult enfranchisement, periodic elections, press freedom, an independent judiciary, and the rule of law. The interim constitution also guaranteed the basic rights of Nepali citizens to formulate a constitution for themselves and to participate in the Constituent Assembly in an environment free from fear. The interim constitution transferred all powers of the King as head of state to the prime minister and stripped the King of any ceremonial constitutional role. Under the interim constitution, the fate of the monarchy was to be decided by the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly. The interim Parliament was a unicameral house.

After promulgation of the interim constitution, many socially marginalized ethnic communities, including the Madhesis of the lowland Terai, began widespread protests against the proposed proportional representation system incorporated in the new constitution. Bandhs and protests sometimes turned violent, with clashes between police and demonstrators leading to dozens killed and injured. The government eventually agreed to increase the number of directly elected representatives from the Terai and implement quotas ensuring representation of women, Madhesis, janajatis, and other discriminated groups. Constitutional amendments regarding representation were adopted in March and June 2007. (The government signed further agreements with Madhesi and janajati groups agreeing to inclusion in government bodies and institutions as well as commitment to address other issues in August 2007, but these have yet to be fully implemented.)

Five Maoist ministers were appointed to the Nepali Congress-led cabinet on April 2007. The ministers submitted their resignations on September 18, 2007 over the issue of declaring Nepal a republic and adoption of fully proportional representation system for the Constituent Assembly (CA) election. After compromise agreements on these issues were reached--having the Interim Parliament declare Nepal a republic but letting the CA implement the measure, and adoption of a mixed electoral system, the constitution was amended again and the Maoist ministers were reinducted on December 31, 2007.

Twice deferred, Nepal's historic Constituent Assembly (CA) election was finally held on April 10, 2008. None of the parties succeeded in getting a simple majority in the CA. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won 218 out of 575 elected seats, followed by the Nepali Congress with 109 seats, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) with 103 seats, and the Terai-based Madhesi People's Rights Forum with 50 seats. Six constituencies needed to hold by-elections, five due to one candidate having won two directly elected seats and one due to the newly elected President resigning his seat. The appointed seats were distributed across the parties in the following manner CPN-M 9, NC 5, UML 5, MPRF 2, SP 1, CPN-Marxist Leninist 1, People’s Front Nepal 1, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party 1, and TMDP 1.

The final list of members elected under the proportional representation system was released on May 8, 2008. The members of the Constituent Assembly were sworn in on May 27, 2008, and the first session of the CA was convened on May 28, 2008. In this session, the CA voted to declare Nepal a federal democratic republic by abolishing the monarchy. Out of 564 members of the CA who voted, 560 voted in favor and 4 against the motion.

While the CA has the prime responsibility of drafting a new constitution for Nepal, it also functions as a regular Parliament. Through the fourth amendment to the interim constitution of Nepal on May 28, 2008, the CA also established, for the first time, a largely ceremonial President as the constitutional head of state, as well as a Vice President. The Prime Minister continues to be the head of the government.

Nepal's judiciary is legally separated from the executive and legislative branches and, in practice, has increasingly shown the will to be independent of political influence. However, by asserting executive control over the judiciary, the interim constitution called into question this independence. Under the interim constitution, the Prime Minister appoints the Chief Justice on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, and the Chief Justice appoints other judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Council. All lower court decisions, including acquittals, are subject to appeal. The Supreme Court is the court of last appeal.

In August 2008, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal--leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)--was sworn in as Prime Minister. On January 12, 2009, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) merged with the much smaller Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Center Masal), the formerly underground party of the People’s Front Nepal, to form the United Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN-Maoist). Less than a year into his term, Prime Minister Dahal resigned from the government on May 4, 2009 following a dispute over his bid to dismiss the Chief of the Army Staff. On May 23, members from 22 of the 24 political parties represented in the Constituent Assembly elected veteran Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as Prime Minister. Madhav Kumar Nepal was sworn in on May 25, 2009. The UCPN-Maoist, which holds the largest number of seats in the CA, pressed for Nepal's resignation and to re-instate Dahal. On June 30, 2010, Prime Minister Nepal announced his resignation "for the sake of consensus" and to end the country's political deadlock following months of Maoist protests. Since Nepal's resignation, Parliament has been unable in multiple sessions to decide on a candidate to replace him as prime minister. Prime Minister Nepal has continued as caretaker prime minister in the interim.

Human Rights
Since political reform began in 1990, some progress has been achieved in the transition to a more open society with greater respect for human rights; however, substantial problems remain. Poorly trained police sometimes use excessive force in quelling violent demonstrations. In addition, there have been reports of torture during detention and widespread reports of custodial abuse. In 2000, the government established the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a government-appointed commission with a mandate to investigate human rights violations. However, the government continues to stall in implementing the commission's recommendations and has not been able to enforce accountability for recent and past abuses. The King's February 2005 dismissal of the government, subsequent imposition of emergency rule and suspension of many civil rights--including freedom of expression, assembly, and privacy--was a setback for human rights in Nepal. During this 3-month period, censors were deployed to major newspapers, and many political leaders were kept under house arrest. The King's government restricted the media from publishing interviews, articles, or news items against the spirit of the royal proclamation of February 1, 2005 or in support of terrorist or destructive activities. The reinstated government, led by Prime Minister Koirala, reversed these decisions in May 2006. The interim constitution promulgated on January 15, 2007 ensured unrestricted freedom of expression and made the NHRC a constitutional body.

Both the Maoists and security personnel have committed numerous human rights violations. The Maoists have used tactics such as kidnapping, torture, bombings, intimidation, killings, and conscription of children. Within the Nepalese security forces, violations ranged from disappearances to executions. After the royal takeover on February 1, 2005 and subsequent imposition of the state of emergency, the security forces arrested many political leaders, student leaders, journalists, and human rights activists under the Public Security Act of 1989, although all were released by June 2005 when the King ended the state of emergency.

After the April 2006 cease-fire announced by the government and the Maoists, incidents of human rights violations by the government declined substantially while incidents of human rights violations by the Maoists remained relatively unabated. Even after signing a comprehensive peace agreement with the government in November 2006, Maoists' extortion, abduction, and intimidation remained largely unchecked. Although activities by other political parties have increased significantly in the rural parts of Nepal, political party representatives, police, non-governmental organization (NGO) workers, and journalists reported continuous threats and intimidation by Maoist or Young Communist League (YCL) cadres. During the January-February 2007 uprising in the Terai, reports of government security forces using excessive force to quell demonstrations were common.

Major daily English-language newspapers include "The Kathmandu Post," "The Himalayan Times," "Republica," and "The Rising Nepal." The last and its vernacular sister publication are owned by a government corporation. There are hundreds of smaller daily and weekly periodicals that are privately owned and of varying journalistic quality. Views expressed since the 1990 move to democracy are varied and vigorous. Currently, there are 325 (231 in use) FM radio and 33 (19 in use) television licenses for privately owned and operated stations, following liberalization of licensing regulations. Radio Nepal and Nepal Television are government-owned and operated. There are nearly 200 cable television operators nationwide, and satellite dishes to receive television broadcasts abound. However, despite its prominence, the Nepali press is still frequently subject to violence and intimidation by political groups.

Trafficking in women and child labor remain serious problems, but some improvement has been seen; in addition, the founder of a U.S.-backed anti-trafficking organization, Maiti Nepal, won the 2010 CNN Hero award. While Nepal is primarily a source country for destinations like India and the Middle East, internal trafficking is also a prominent issue. According to the State Department's 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report, 5,000 to 7,000 girls have been trafficked from rural parts of the country to Kathmandu, and there are over 20,000 child indentured domestic workers in Nepal. Lack of prosecution and police complicity in trafficking cases remain major problems. Discrimination against women and lower castes is prevalent.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
As a small, landlocked country wedged between two much larger and far stronger powers, Nepal seeks good relations with both India and China. Nepal formally established relations with China in 1956 and, since then, their bilateral relations have generally been good. Because of strong cultural, religious, linguistic, and economic ties, Nepal's association with India traditionally has been close. India and Nepal restored trade relations in 1990 after a break caused by India's security concerns over Nepal's relations with China. A bilateral trade treaty signed with India in 1991 is renewed every 5 years. The most recent renewal was on March 6, 2007, which expires on March 5, 2012. A transit treaty with India, which allows Nepal to trade with other countries through the Calcutta/Haldia ports, was extended on March 30, 2006 for 7 years.

Nepal played an active role in the formation of the economic development-oriented South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and is the site of its secretariat. Nepal is also a signatory of the agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which came into force on January 1, 2006. A SAFTA tariff liberalization program (TLP) was scheduled to be implemented July 1, 2006. All member countries, except for Nepal, whose TLP started on August 1, 2006, reduced tariffs for each other. However, on July 1, 2006, Pakistan officially toughened its stance of not trading with India under the SAFTA arrangements and did not announce TLP for India. Due to the stalemate between India and Pakistan, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Free Trade Agreement (BIMSTEC-FTA), which was initially scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2006, was deferred indefinitely. The BIMSTEC Summit scheduled for February 8, 2007, in India was also deferred due to political instability in member states, including Nepal, but eventually took place in November 2008. On international issues, Nepal follows a non-aligned policy and often votes with the Non-Aligned Movement in the United Nations. Nepal participates in a number of UN specialized agencies and is a member of the World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Colombo Plan, and Asian Development Bank.

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