Nepal under a New Constitution: Challenges and Opportunities
Program Year: 2016
Nepal’s Constituent Assembly has taken historic steps to adopt a new Constitution that seeks to be broadly representative of the needs, interests, and aspirations of its people. Yet the constitution’s promulgation on September 20 has met with mixed reactions both within and outside the country. The culmination of a protracted political transition – ongoing since the comprehensive peace accord of 2006 – the new constitution attempts to address key issues facing the country, including marginalization and inclusion, federalism, gender equality and citizenship.
Dr. George Varughese commented on some of the missing elements in the new Nepalese Constitution, including the issues of citizenship criteria, specific provisions for local and subnational governance, and particularly the delineation of provincial boundaries, which has fueled recent political protest and unrest among Nepal’s ethnic communities. He described the plans for Nepal’s new National Reconstruction Authority and urged the international community to focus efforts not only on recovering from the April and May earthquakes, but also on planning and preparedness for the next natural disaster. He suggested that supporting local governance and development structures which closely consult citizens of the community are one avenue to more effective disaster management. During the session, Dr. Varughese took questions on the role of and reactions in India to Nepal’s constitutional drafting process, Nepal’s relations with China, the Nepalese government’s efforts to improve communication regarding recovery efforts, and the effects of the recent earthquake on labor migration, the remittances from which represent roughly a third of the country’s GDP.
Featuring:
Dr. George Varughese, Country Representative in Nepal, The Asia Foundation; 2015-16 Senior Scholar, Global and Area Studies program, University of Wyoming
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