The Asia Foundation’s Community Mediation Program in Nepal
Country Representative George Varughese describes The Asia Foundation’s approach to community mediation in Nepal, while mediators and disputants allow us to watch an actual mediation session and offer their own input on the program’s successes. Since 2001, The Asia Foundation has worked intensively in the development and implementation of facilitated, interest-based mediation and is currently a recognized leader in community mediation in Nepal. Nepal’s citizens face both a weak and inaccessible formal justice system and inadequate means of resolving local disputes. Mediation is able to fill this void in judicial assistance by providing immediate, affordable, and locally accessible dispute resolution services. Mediation in Nepal offers a space to resolve interpersonal and collective disputes, which transforms adversarial tensions into cordial relationships based on mutual respect.