The new left-led coalition in Kathmandu could pave the way for progress on finally addressing conflict atrocities, but first the government’s proposed bill in Parliament needs some important changes to ensure justice for victims. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has held several meetings with opposition leader K P Oli of the UML over the past few months because he knew that the bill could not be passed without UML support. Dahal was under pressure from the international community, including from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during his visit to Nepal in October to conclude the transitional justice process. On Tuesday, <a href="http://www.hrw.org/asia/nepal">Human Rights Watch (HRW)</a> and the group Advocacy Forum-Nepal released a report that said although the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/asia/nepal">Nepal</a> government’s proposed bill on transitional justice contains positive provisions, but needs ‘significant amendments’. ‘It is widely recognised that a lack of accountability for conflict-era violations has led to a crisis of impunity in Nepal, with police and politicians rarely held accountable for rights violations and corruption,’ the two organisations said in a statement.&nbsp; But they added that the current moment presents the opportunity to amend the draft so that the demands of victims and survivors of the 1996-2006 conflict are met. More than 17,000 Nepalis, mostly civilians, were killed and some 3,288 are still listed as missing. HRW said that the work of rights activists had ensured built public pressure to improve the draft bill, but it still allowed those responsible for serious war crimes and crimes against humanity to not be answerable.&nbsp; The HRW Advocacy Forum report, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/node/387537">Breaking Barriers to Justice: Nepal’s Long Struggle for Accountability, Truth and Reparations</a> analyses the proposed law and reviews some cases where there were obstructions to justice by the Nepali state, which is made up of the former enemies in the conflict.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240306110324_81106a42b6e16cc935bacb7d2315487adc45b250b4b032276a0819db1918818c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240306110324_81106a42b6e16cc935bacb7d2315487adc45b250b4b032276a0819db1918818c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="TJ Bill"> </figure>  Survivors of war rape and relatives of victims filed complaints in 62 extrajudicial killings, and the organisations say that the draft does not meet international legal standards, rulings by Nepal’s &nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/01/nepal-supreme-courts-decision-reaffirms-need-amend-transitional-justice-law">Supreme Court</a> and demands of victims’ families. “To deliver a durable and rights-respecting process without further delay, Nepal’s leaders should agree to amendments called for by victims and recommended by legal experts, then ask parliament to pass the bill into law,” said <a href="https://www.hrw.org/about/people/meenakshi-ganguly">Meenakshi Ganguly</a>, HRW’s deputy Asia director. "This is a moment of opportunity to deliver the truth, justice, and reparations long sought by victims and help protect the rights of all Nepalis in the future." The conflict ended 18 years ago with the signing of the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement under which mandated setting up a <a href="http://www.trc.gov.np/">Truth and Reconciliation Commission</a> (TRC) and a Commission on the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP). During Secretary-General Guterres’ visit Prime Minister Dahal from the Maoist Centre party promised ‘speedy advancement’ of the peace process. The current bill provides for reparations and interim relief for some victims, including victims of torture and rape, who were left out of earlier relief packages. It guarantees the right of the families of victims of enforced disappearance to their relatives’ property.&nbsp; The TRC and (CIEDP) would investigate war crimes and those classified as ‘serious violations of human rights’ could be referred to and prosecuted in a special court. This includes rape, enforced disappearance, and cruel or inhuman torture, and a yet to be finalised definition of unlawful killing.&nbsp; However, HRW says the bill excludes numerous serious crimes under international law, including some acts of torture and other unlawful killings. It says excluding certain categories of crime risks providing general amnesty to perpetrators, as well as deprive some victims and their families from reparations.&nbsp; “If the transitional justice bill is passed without appropriate amendments, it risks hindering the search for justice,” said Bikash Basnet of Advocacy Forum. “If it is appropriately amended, it can be the basis for a meaningful, nationally-owned process that upholds the rights of victims and benefits all Nepalis by strengthening institutions and the rule of law.” Click here for full report, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/node/387537">Struggle for Accountability, Truth and Reparations</a>

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Nepal’s chance on transitional justice

<img width="1169" height="747" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08ca9c7e80680e0a603ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/>The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, urging him to uphold the rights of Nepali citizens and strengthen the rule of law.
Recent <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2214-109X(20)30345-4">reports</a> have revealed that the pandemic has decreased institutional delivery by half, increasing risks of premature birth, stillborn deliveries and newborn deaths, setting back Nepal’s past gains in maternal and child care.
Additionally, reduced family income coupled with prolonged school closures has pushed many Nepali children into labour, with projections that half of the girl students may not rejoin schools once they <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepals-girls-may-drop-out-of-school/">reopen</a>. Child marriages are on the rise.
“The new government should take measures to safeguard and continue progress on health and education, including through assistance for households whose livelihoods have been devastated by the pandemic,” says Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Safety nets are critical for ensuring that crises do not prevent children from continuing their education or harm progress on reducing child marriage and child labour.” 
The letter paid special attention to pressing human rights issues pertaining to Nepal’s failures in addressing war crime and transitional justice.
In 2015, Nepal formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons. A year before that in 2014, the Supreme Court scrapped provisions in the transitional justice law that allows amnesty for offences including torture, murder, and enforced disappearance during Nepal’s armed conflict. The law has not been revised.
Successive governments have stopped conflict-era cases from being heard in regular courts citing the supposed transitional justice process, even as victim groups and Nepali human rights organisations have long questioned its credibility. 
But their protests seem to have fallen on deaf ears, one of Deuba’s first acts in office was to extend the terms of transitional justice commissioners by another year.
“Successive governments have stalled on delivering justice to victims for the many grave cases of abuse, preferring to protect the abusers instead,” adds Ganguly. “As a result, abuses continue while principles of accountability, the rule of law, and the independence of institutions have been eroded, with negative consequences for everyone in society.”
Nepal has made little progress in investigations of human rights violations at home despite being re-elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This has had a corrosive impact on wider principles of accountability and the integrity of institutions.
Of late, Nepal has seen a marked increase in alleged extra-judicial killings, custodial deaths allegedly from torture, and the excessive use of lethal force against protesters. In fact, the NHRC in October 2020 published a list of 286 suspects of serious crimes that included law enforcement officials, military personnel, and former Maoist insurgents that police had refused to investigate.
A culture of impunity has undermined the rule of law, there is no accountability for abuses of power. Instead, they continue to climb up the bureaucratic ladder, like the promotion of a police officer alleged to be involved in the extra-judicial killing of two men in August 2018. 
Justice and relief for survivors of sexual violence during the conflict is even more difficult to come by. On the other hand, families of six young Dalit men murdered in Rukum in May 2020 —among the deadliest instances of caste-based killings in Nepal, still await justice. Those linked to the death of a 12-year-old girl forced to marry her rapist in May 2020 have yet to be held accountable.
The HRW has also called on the Deuba government to reverse appointments made to independent institutions like NHRC and the Election Commission after the Oli government pushed an ordinance amending the law in December 2020 to allow only three members of the Council to make appointments.
There are numerous other pending challenges such as the 2006 Citizenship Act, provisions in the 2015 Constitution, and a draft citizenship bill that limits women’s ability to transmit citizenship through marriage. The bill is similarly discriminatory against Nepal’s transgender people.
The HRW also opposed restrictions on the freedom of religion, rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and association of Tibetan refugees in Nepal who have fled Chinese persecution.
Says Ganguly: “Prime Minister Deuba faces many pressing problems, but he also has an opportunity to craft a positive legacy. Meanwhile, Nepal’s international development partners should press the government for measurable action on accountability if they hope to achieve change.”

Nepal must work on human rights

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2ab9c7e80680e07baf7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1169" height="747"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Human Rights Watch (HRW) has once more urged the government to address allegations of recent extra-judicial executions and deaths in custody, as well as to respect the independence of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-must-reboot-human-rights-rule-of-law/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-must-reboot-human-rights-rule-of-law/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFoBusv1JSu9bs5W7mcTw9EzO-XIA">National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2ae9c7e80680e07baf8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="225">The NHRC has filed reports of continued human rights abuses by Nepal’s security forces, and HRW pressed the government to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/amnesty-on-nepal-impunity/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/amnesty-on-nepal-impunity/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEH5HzJ3I4RshZx_BdtbX-KsWLiGA">end impunity</a> and be accountable for the abuses.“Nepal is still trying to grapple with delivering justice for unlawful killings during the armed conflict, but instead of keeping its promise of reforms and pledges against repeat offenses, the abuses continue to mount,” said <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZSUZsKQffopO3djP-2FXiLsskiG1Q6gEMW5ijTZcdpHqg1VNHdLPEKhbJiQPkGKrCUA-3D-3D96lz_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcN-2FERJ2N3YjLm5ateZ9bb7tuhfsjpJPm45z2zGY64P7QXusQiq6ay1HrAYGaKuHyKM3PHKqG0zyjdfWzde31JFFhNyQCre6m4W5TfEEeyHLQlujirrZIudDOnoFzw1HClU9-2B6p-2B3oVxBfxN72WiRj8EE5QIExi06a4nLUoU01h49" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZSUZsKQffopO3djP-2FXiLsskiG1Q6gEMW5ijTZcdpHqg1VNHdLPEKhbJiQPkGKrCUA-3D-3D96lz_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcN-2FERJ2N3YjLm5ateZ9bb7tuhfsjpJPm45z2zGY64P7QXusQiq6ay1HrAYGaKuHyKM3PHKqG0zyjdfWzde31JFFhNyQCre6m4W5TfEEeyHLQlujirrZIudDOnoFzw1HClU9-2B6p-2B3oVxBfxN72WiRj8EE5QIExi06a4nLUoU01h49&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH1ISXSgqGDV5tebZV8VO0gbX1Z9w">Meenakshi Ganguly</a>, HRW’s South Asia director. “The government uses rule of law rhetoric to appeal to foreign diplomats and donors but actually fosters a culture of impunity.”Last June, police in Sarlahi killed Kumar Paudel, 47, a member of the Biplav faction of an underground Maoist splinter group in what appears to be an encounter killing. An investigation by the NHRC said police officers responsible should be prosecuted, but the Home Ministry rejected the report.The NHRC has also called for an investigation into the deaths of Raj Kumar Chepang, 24, after being detained and allegedly beaten by the Army in Chitwan National Park, and Bijay Mahara, 19, after being taken in by Police for questioning.The human rights violations have continued mainly because earlier <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/just-not-justice/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/just-not-justice/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9PTZH3qurxSjq-Xb_0-1Cm5_CIg">heinous crimes committed during the 1996-2006 conflict</a> have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHKJa8U7eBo2jlefbhlqi3gdXnl9A">gone unpunished</a> due to the government’s insincerity in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/truth-about-truth-commission,3565" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/truth-about-truth-commission,3565&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGjW4eMd1la3zSwEIFS-njsyp1WEQ">pursuing transitional justice</a>, rights groups have said.Responding to the government’s request to the NHRC to reconsider its recommendation in the case of Kumar Paudel, secretary and spokesperson for the commission, Bed Bhattarai, told HRW: “The Home Ministry is asking the NHRC to rethink the recommendation of the commission but actually we have clear evidence…. The NHRC has investigated and concluded it as an extrajudicial killing.”Following the death of Bijay Mahara on 26 August, Police initially said he died of kidney failure, but two officers were subsequently suspended after a video emerged of Mahara claiming that he had been tortured in detention.Research by <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=TeZUXWpUv-2B6TCY38pVLo9kSUiUANym5PaENKGoAIavgLjK8V-2BovxX-2Fv2SYSAvGo4IRwUiTDUwgS1mwkxn-2Fx9Dd02uxGSWuDdVkHOBN9CEtSc2vxL0gWVcvdrg-2BMRL3V89NACQ2JFrG-2BC-2B8UjNb8eYQ-3D-3D34uM_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcOcaRU0-2FjbWitmF6bbjoNkqdarFAzyZZui93uhoxPEeAen-2Fj-2FzC56LaN6bJHNrzx7H4-2FabqTIr2HwABSYnyKLRkSfxY6yL3Ty0WRMhwGuse0vzCv39Ac4NSc14e9OPA7OF9X5hXSe86wSuNVGMmb1LXPxr4I-2FQ6MC7mwGBTN75bn" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3DTeZUXWpUv-2B6TCY38pVLo9kSUiUANym5PaENKGoAIavgLjK8V-2BovxX-2Fv2SYSAvGo4IRwUiTDUwgS1mwkxn-2Fx9Dd02uxGSWuDdVkHOBN9CEtSc2vxL0gWVcvdrg-2BMRL3V89NACQ2JFrG-2BC-2B8UjNb8eYQ-3D-3D34uM_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcOcaRU0-2FjbWitmF6bbjoNkqdarFAzyZZui93uhoxPEeAen-2Fj-2FzC56LaN6bJHNrzx7H4-2FabqTIr2HwABSYnyKLRkSfxY6yL3Ty0WRMhwGuse0vzCv39Ac4NSc14e9OPA7OF9X5hXSe86wSuNVGMmb1LXPxr4I-2FQ6MC7mwGBTN75bn&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExZ-GYCF6ySN-Up51gEy8gF47o1A">Advocacy Forum</a> found that despite the end of the conflict in 2006, torture is still widespread in Police custody in Nepal, and members of the Dalit and other marginalised groups are far more likely to be tortured than those of the ‘upper’ castes.  Torture <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcC6qxQ9kuLqpPt-2B0oTwjIxNxBLiGkIHIKl5XCQd3p-2BZxeX38PHHR6QWOvh574Cl8YVewQ4R021Aqo-2Fff81xLwIO5-2B9CdFZ0i0egwP0-2FNuk-2BHLij_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcBHv3zUYyrNEtRNqqCiJvlmd9QHCSJuR0l3YsqkKyb0-2FnuW54yaQqOGtPpIvxJ-2ForXmb1LIsVj4cY9gPrIglkASFFsiffE5tcwwexY8Uu32qEHLPUgvYnyROfqbymrsHQf-2BiD-2BxbzPpiw-2BK0eHruGSVj2d49WRLM79a2SdD-2Flcwn" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcC6qxQ9kuLqpPt-2B0oTwjIxNxBLiGkIHIKl5XCQd3p-2BZxeX38PHHR6QWOvh574Cl8YVewQ4R021Aqo-2Fff81xLwIO5-2B9CdFZ0i0egwP0-2FNuk-2BHLij_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcBHv3zUYyrNEtRNqqCiJvlmd9QHCSJuR0l3YsqkKyb0-2FnuW54yaQqOGtPpIvxJ-2ForXmb1LIsVj4cY9gPrIglkASFFsiffE5tcwwexY8Uu32qEHLPUgvYnyROfqbymrsHQf-2BiD-2BxbzPpiw-2BK0eHruGSVj2d49WRLM79a2SdD-2Flcwn&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFKPGrAabZA8M1P5L3J38Q71HsSow">became a crime under Nepali law for the first time in 2018</a>, but there have been no successful prosecutions.<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUXoVGUaW9MzXuF6NbqRpywagv8GnGLV2MH4IauJtg0LM1i-2FhKGqxJE-2B-2BqdW2h1Oc7L1mCztnv5XMLLKi-2BsEJY28czUOCpr2VdYVIprlRLcgBVmnU6Qk-2BzBVYmF4Cnc28mg-3D-3Dsh22_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcCEnkz-2F7VEFiqfgMwVc0SCYlT0WIUQhBNOpF2T7L-2BTrAHCZslcGloi7Hq-2FSacHY4TmgfflPcG9AwUfu5X1sVRhN2VlM-2BpYK0tDpzpzzvMFNSTXWI0cBDjPRUp6GSlYXpdlbY3Ss-2FGvPFKY5AABVluitYBA0eoX4Go-2FqfrUu09F5E" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUXoVGUaW9MzXuF6NbqRpywagv8GnGLV2MH4IauJtg0LM1i-2FhKGqxJE-2B-2BqdW2h1Oc7L1mCztnv5XMLLKi-2BsEJY28czUOCpr2VdYVIprlRLcgBVmnU6Qk-2BzBVYmF4Cnc28mg-3D-3Dsh22_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcCEnkz-2F7VEFiqfgMwVc0SCYlT0WIUQhBNOpF2T7L-2BTrAHCZslcGloi7Hq-2FSacHY4TmgfflPcG9AwUfu5X1sVRhN2VlM-2BpYK0tDpzpzzvMFNSTXWI0cBDjPRUp6GSlYXpdlbY3Ss-2FGvPFKY5AABVluitYBA0eoX4Go-2FqfrUu09F5E&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFEJ_teaLKOO1vil_w98hjugui0Eg">According to the NHRC</a>, the government has fully implemented only about 12% of 810 commission recommendations in the eight years to 2019. The terms of the current members of the NHRC expire in October.HRW is also critical of Nepal’s donors for not addressing impunity and rights violations in the country, citing assistance from the UK, US and Norway for the Nepal Police and judicial reform.Human Rights Watch said in a statement that donors which fund the Nepal Police ‘should publicly and privately insist that Nepal meets its basic obligation to investigate and prosecute grave violations’.When the country was elected to the current United Nations Human Rights Council, Nepal had said that it guaranteed the independence of the NHRC and the judiciary, and it was genuinely committed to pursue <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/stop-stalling-transitional-justice-global-human-rights-bodies/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/stop-stalling-transitional-justice-global-human-rights-bodies/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE7wbBcmxj-7lR9I-ivkL2vJMkExw">transitional justice</a> for conflict-era crimes.<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUS-2FpwyhkazBUFbKhdFfXjgcTFa9DWLDOjxQdpFqupeeVEJghz4pOAjHGajsYws2Bd7RFpFme416EcXeCCJ-2FlNmS-2BTfHvstd0QEn8rrgZIk1tJA_f_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcCszbIhEI0mPssDQ2oL0n0QKJrmWVeo5yK7TrYJ7-2FIlJhYx96FPSvCxvDwc-2Bx3aBJI4TTUVaDztoXPg6rpUSDTTIh9YTFGkbC8EOF-2BERuor1Ej9gnVxPfrBVZaS-2BjfhqpFuScbhEJhgxHhMNI09c71BZStUyomzgltnOIZbL9McY" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUS-2FpwyhkazBUFbKhdFfXjgcTFa9DWLDOjxQdpFqupeeVEJghz4pOAjHGajsYws2Bd7RFpFme416EcXeCCJ-2FlNmS-2BTfHvstd0QEn8rrgZIk1tJA_f_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcCszbIhEI0mPssDQ2oL0n0QKJrmWVeo5yK7TrYJ7-2FIlJhYx96FPSvCxvDwc-2Bx3aBJI4TTUVaDztoXPg6rpUSDTTIh9YTFGkbC8EOF-2BERuor1Ej9gnVxPfrBVZaS-2BjfhqpFuScbhEJhgxHhMNI09c71BZStUyomzgltnOIZbL9McY&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHL4oDZP8uhbAp9wpRvv4obxi7EGQ">Six UN special rapporteurs have warned</a> that the Nepal government has tried to ‘severely undermine’ the NHRC’s independence and authority, and the government had failed to comply with <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUb5yH3-2BeXtQTvnT-2B-2BUMEEz4vk-2BM5b-2BCWldHLQwamPuPqDZU-2FhoCtpX8cVIafU0CYB1qVWzSARIP4cuPd-2Bex-2FjWk-3DfRGQ_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcKZ22P-2Bzc76cgmBpFkuXPJMU7EzfQBmVMrQ1J6jLJo-2FU99jF4uiyCNoCBn-2FWLi7Z3a4Uba9FEGJwlIWmYXaAKTG5Suo62LfQUOfOFGLpKJ-2BTLY7aW5jbBNJO8hdrgiutDBamjuT9ZRmgefIN3hCuk-2FPwhR3UnhkRl-2F77PQJq7GwJ" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUb5yH3-2BeXtQTvnT-2B-2BUMEEz4vk-2BM5b-2BCWldHLQwamPuPqDZU-2FhoCtpX8cVIafU0CYB1qVWzSARIP4cuPd-2Bex-2FjWk-3DfRGQ_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQR-2F1KEz-2Fz91FYzeRtiZ5NzLtCBIn90Ft9K9VjTk8-2BC-2BX37Y-2FevkoNwB2tc-2F1uUWzlWl7V-2BVi0qWv4E-2BCukDvpOcKZ22P-2Bzc76cgmBpFkuXPJMU7EzfQBmVMrQ1J6jLJo-2FU99jF4uiyCNoCBn-2FWLi7Z3a4Uba9FEGJwlIWmYXaAKTG5Suo62LfQUOfOFGLpKJ-2BTLY7aW5jbBNJO8hdrgiutDBamjuT9ZRmgefIN3hCuk-2FPwhR3UnhkRl-2F77PQJq7GwJ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125900000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEjUvI50js_VF_0e-1iKnOZQTwcZQ">repeated Supreme Court rulings</a> to amend the transitional justice law to meet international standards, and instead has ignored numerous court orders relating to conflict-era police investigations and prosecutions. Nepal is now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599117125901000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFfgtjW7Hs6ogsMKf_aZYp2Rv5T3A">standing for a second term at the Council</a>, and its record is coming up for review.Said Ganguly: “Nepal’s authorities love to speak of their commitment to human rights and good governance … and diplomats and donors should insist on measurable progress on rights protections if they hope to see their financial and technical support bear meaningful results.”

End impunity, protect rights: HRW

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a50649c7e80680e04fd59jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1053"/><figcaption>Subhas Rai</figcaption></figure>Four global human rights bodies took the unusual step Monday of issuing a joint statement condemning the Nepal Government’s inaction on rights violations committed during the decade-long armed conflict, which has denied justice to victims."The failure of the government to deliver on its commitment to ensure truth, justice, and reparations for the victims of conflict-era abuses shows a dismaying disregard for the protection of human rights,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), in the press release.HRW, TRIAL International, the International Commission of Jurists and Amnesty International called on the government to: 1) suspend the current process of naming commissioners to Nepal’s two transitional justice commissions, and initiate a consultative and transparent process for the nomination and appointment of commissioners; 2) follow through on commitments to amend the 2014 transitional justice law to ensure that the legal framework is consistent with international human rights standards and Supreme Court rulings; and 3) adopt and publicise a plan for taking the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-struggle-for-transitional-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transitional justice</a> process forward.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-struggle-for-transitional-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The struggle for Transitional Justice</a>, Hari PhuyalThe terms of the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were extended in February 2019 but to date the new commissioners have not been named, as political parties are reportedly fighting over the influential roles.“The legitimacy of Nepal’s transitional justice process lies both in a transparent and consultative appointment process for commissioners, and a strong legal foundation to allow the commissions to fulfil their mandate,” said Helena Rodríguez-Bronchú, head of TRIAL International’s Nepal program, in the press release.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/12-years-later-justice-is-a-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12 years later, justice is a mirage</a>, Sewa BhattaraiAfter being elected in 2018, Prime Minister KP Oli renewed promises that the legal framework governing transitional justice would be brought into conformity with Nepal’s international human rights law obligations, as the Supreme Court had repeatedly directed. In April 2019, United Nations experts wrote a joint letter to Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali reminding him of that commitment and calling for a transparent process for appointing new commissioners.“The lack of progress in holding perpetrators accountable for the suffering inflicted upon victims, their families and Nepali society as a whole, is appalling,” said ICJ Asia-Pacific Director Frederick Rawski. “Nearly 13 years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, political leaders inside and outside of government are still playing games by politicizing the process. It is about time that they showed some courage, and took action to ensure access to justice, instead of continually looking after their own short-term self-interests.”Read also: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em; background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/justice-in-transition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justice in transition,</a> David Seddon

‘Stop stalling’ transitional justice: global human rights bodies

Earlier this month, Nepal received Rs1.6 billion from the World Bank as part of its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/will-nepal-ever-be-paid-for-saving-trees">Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)</a>, rewarding the country for increasing its carbon sink capacity. Nepal is the first in South Asia to benefit from this facility, and it is specifically to recompense the country for increasing forest cover in 13 Tarai districts between 2018-2024. “We are also trying to get another Rs13 billion from the facility while also preparing for free market-based carbon trading in the international market,” says Nabaraj Pudasaini of the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) Implementation Centre. Big emitters of greenhouse gases are under pressure to reduce their carbon emissions, and many have signed agreements to do so by investing in decarbonisation projects in developing countries. Countries that emit more than a specified amount of carbon would be able to buy emission rights from countries that emit less. Nepal is internationally known for its community forestry program which has been largely credited for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">increasing tree cover to over 45%</a> in less than three decades. But this achievement had not been adequately recognised or rewarded internationally before. Forests, especially in the tropics, absorb and store large amounts of carbon while releasing oxygen in a process known as photosynthesis. <a href="https://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/">Preventing deforestation</a> and increasing canopy cover is considered a much more achievable goal than reducing emission in the scale necessary to limit global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. COP11 in Montreal in 2005 first proposed reducing carbon emissions by improving forest quality by halting degradation. By 2015, a new mechanism of financial assistance was created to help less developed countries with sustainable management of forests <a href="https://www.un-redd.org/">(called REDD+)</a>. Under this new mechanism, countries receive aid based on their efforts to prevent forest degradation and increase carbon sink, and in 2021 the World Bank was entrusted with implementing it. Nepal’s FCPF receipt this month was calculated on the basis of 2.4 million tons of carbon stored at a rate of $5 per ton. In the second phase, Nepal will receive more than Rs4 billion within the next year for storing an additional 7 million tons of carbon. Eighty per cent of this amount obtained from carbon trading needs to be spent on local beneficiaries and indigenous communities.&nbsp; But carbon trading is not easy, Nepal needs to prove that protected forests will not be destroyed in future.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="Greenbacks for greenery NT "> <figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Explains carbon trading expert Yugan Manandhar. “Forests should be handed over to the community and shown that they are managed sustainably. Proving this will be particularly challenging; forest encroachment and degradation is rife in the Tarai.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke">Deliberate forest fires</a> have also added to the challenge because they increase carbon emissions and reduce the sink capacity of forests. The basis for the amount that Nepal received was set five years ago by calculating the carbon reserves of forests in the 13 Tarai districts. In the meantime, sustainable forest management, tree plantation, forest destruction and erosion control were prioritised to increase carbon reserves in those forests. Nepal is signing another carbon trading agreement during the ongoing Baku climate conference. The <a href="https://www.leafcoalition.org/">Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF Coalition) </a>proposes to sell the carbon stored in the forests of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces. For this, Nepal signed the letter of intent three years ago at COP26 in Glasgow. The target is to store 70 million tons of carbon in 32 million hectares of forest in the three provinces per which Nepal will receive Rs13 billion in four years at $10 per ton with provisions to increase the rate if various conditions are met. However, the agreement in itself doesn’t guarantee the amount. According to the targets set by Nepal, forest degradation should be stopped and carbon reserves increased by protecting tree cover. Preparations are also underway for clean air carbon trade because it has offset fossil fuel use by introducing 30,000 electric vehicles. Nepal has been selected for the first round to receive $40 million within one and a half years through the Clean Air System of the World Bank. Given that most of Nepal’s energy mix is from biomass, replacing them with electric stoves can significantly improve health by reducing indoor pollution as well as strengthen the country’s capacity for carbon trade. “Nepal's goal now is to sell carbon in the free market where carbon credits are bought and sold based on supply and demand in an open and transparent manner,” adds Pudasaini of the REDD Implementation Centre. “Nepal can now set its own price and bargain with interested buyer countries and organisations.” Lately, India has been discussing setting up a carbon market. Nepal has exported Rs12.72 billion worth of electricity to India so far this fiscal year, which can be traded under Nepal’s carbon market. “Carbon trading can create significant economic benefits for Nepal, which will help reinvest in development and environmental protection projects,” says Manandhar. “But we must prioritise sustainable management of forests, cutting older trees and allowing regrowth as well as promoting electric stoves and electric vehicles.”

Greenbacks for greenery

Khukri Rum is <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3719#.WurBk6SFPIU">one of Nepal’s most iconic brands</a>, and is now launching a new Cask Series premium product to sell in Nepal and abroad. The Cask Series Smoked Finish Khukri Rum is a limited edition with only about 7,000 bottles, most of it for export and rest to be sold to rum connoisseurs in Nepal itself. Each bottle is numbered and will mention the cask from which it is derived. “We are working on taking a classic Nepali rum to a new luxury premium brand category, the Cask Series will only be produced this year with new product ranges in future,” explains Subash Lamichhane, managing director of Nepal Distilleries that first started making Khukri rum in 1959 in Balaju and has never stopped. Fermented from molasses in Bara district in the Tarai after the annual sugarcane harvest, the rum is matured for at least eight months during distillation. The distillery bottles the classic Khukri XXX, Coronation Khukri XXX, Khukri White Rum and Khukri Spiced Rum.&nbsp; The distillery is now adding this limited edition of its ‘Cask Series’. While the original rum is stored in huge wooden vats, the rum used for this more exclusive line is in smaller casks made either from oak or sal, with charred insides to give the rum a smoky flavour. The Cask Series rum is indeed smokier than the classic, while the spiced rum tastes toasty and mostly of cardamom. The company has a tasting suite with a master blender and tasters who have to approve the palate test.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1498" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum"> </figure>  The packaging for the Cask Series is as special as the process. A sturdy patterned box that opens up to a black glass bottle with gold lettering, and an indication of which cask the rum is from. These are then shipped to premium customers around the world One of the reasons this is the more expensive premium line is because the casks are smaller than the vats and the blenders reject more than half of the rum in the casks when the aging period is complete. The trick for the blender is also to decide when to take the run out of the cask.&nbsp; Says Lamichhane: “If we have 25 casks, we expect to throw away about fifteen.”Over the decades, Nepal Distilleries have created and maintained a brand that feels quintessentially Nepali, and has served as Nepal’s ‘ambassador’ with exports to Germany, Korea, Belgium, Finland, the Czech Republic, besides the existing markets among Nepalis in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia. &nbsp;Its unique <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khukri-rum-sharpens-its-act">khukri shaped bottle</a> first introduced for King Birendra’s coronation in 1975 has been a collector’s item. The bottle and rum have been a staple for Nepalis and visitors to take as gifts when they leave the country, and is used as decoration on bar tables around the world. Now, nearly 40 years later, even that bottle will soon be getting a makeover with a sharper design and sleeker handle. “Our bottle design has always been instantly recognisable, and it is,” says Lamichhane. The Himalayan restaurant at The Hague, for example, has a Khukri Coronation bottle adorning its bar (page 6-7). In Washington DC Himalayan Heritage Restaurant &amp; Bar offers ‘Nepalese Khukri Rum’ mojito in its drinks menu with fresh mint, soda water, lime juice and sugar syrup, for $12.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum NT"> <figcaption>Christopher Armes, master blender of the Cask Series.</figcaption> </figure>  A distinct element of the award-winning <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/khukri-rum-gets-award">classic Khukri rum</a> is its burgundy colour from caramel sourced from cooking sugar and blended with the raw rum. The spirits are then stored in a warehouse with floor-to-ceiling vats. The vats are not just for storage, the wood in the vats imparts flavour into the rum, and removes a lot of the harshness. &nbsp; On a visit this week, the bottling room was just about to begin for the day and the production line was churning out different shapes and sizes of Khukri Rum bottles. Most of the process is automated, including screwing bottle caps, sticking labels, placing the government seal, and packaging. The only manual intervention is the quality control where bottles are held against the light to check for sediment and colour. A mural on the wall of the distillery in Balaju depicts the rum-making process. A lady slings sugarcane on her shoulder, the molasses is churned in a pot, water is channelled into the distillation process, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom are added to a container, and finally there is a bottle of the classic Khukri Rum against a Kathmandu backdrop.

Khukri goes premium with new rum

Turkish Airlines has introduced a new amenity kit collection designed in collaboration with French fashion house Lanvin for international business class passengers on flights more than five hours. It consists of five pieces designed for sustainability and elegance. Bags are reusable and will consist of Lanvin cosmetic products like hand and body lotions and lip balm. Eye masks and socks are made from recycled materials, earplugs are packaged in paper and the toothbrush is bamboo.

Turkish amenity kit

Nepal now generates a surplus of electricity and it is all from renewable hydropower. Nearly half the country is under forest cover. Despite meeting these decarbonisation goals, Nepal’s hydropower plants are threatened by increased risk due to climate impact.&nbsp; Till <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">28 September</a>, Nepal was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-nepal-sign-power-exchange-deal">exporting just over 1,000MW</a> of electricity to power-hungry India, when flash floods and landslides unleashed by historically heavy rains damaged over 30 hydropower plants across the country, temporarily <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/power-to-the-people">slashing nearly half the power generation.</a> The 456MW Upper Tamakosi in Dolakha was the hardest hit and it will take six months and Rs2 billion to repair. This has significantly reduced exports as well as domestic generation. Two months later, Nepal has still not been unable to fully keep its export commitment, and is actually paying Rs100 million in fines to India. Thirty-seven existing and under construction projects under the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) suffered Rs2.5 billion in damage. One of them is the 22MW Bagmati project in Makwanpur which was almost completely buried in flood debris. Even before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-dead-64-missing-in-nepal-floods">record-breaking rain in September</a>, 15 other hydropower projects had been damaged by floods. Last year, floods caused by heavy localised rain damaged 28 hydropower plants. World governments met in Baku for COP29 to discuss the Loss &amp; Damage Fund and the Adaptation Fund, but for countries like Nepal the commas and brackets are meaningless until they are turned into $ and €. And likelihood of adequate compensation for climate-related damage is a long way off, if ever. Nepal’s national strategy is to use its vast hydropower resource as clean energy to spur economic growth, job creation, and boost export revenue. But the plants are located in narrow Himalayan valleys prone to landslides and floods even at the best of times. Now, those <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-climate-for-investment-in-nepal">risks have been heightened by weather extremes</a> due to climate breakdown. At present, Nepal generates over 3,300MW of clean hydropower, and the target is to reach 12,700MW in the next five years. Projects equivalent to 6,000MW are under construction or ready to start. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has an Energy Development Roadmap and Action Plan with the target of producing 28,500MW by 2035 by when more than half of it will be exported.&nbsp; “The climate crisis will further change the rainfall patterns making hydropower generation a big question mark in the future,” Manjeet Dhakal in Baku, who is also the Nepali adviser to the LDC Chair at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We are building hydropower projects on rivers without evaluating risk. This whole process needs to be reviewed and reconsidered.” The report of the National Adaptation Plan published by the Ministry of Forest and Environment last year mentions that hydropower production, transmission and distribution will be at risk from flash floods, debris flows, glacial lake outbursts and rising temperatures.&nbsp; This risk is not confined to Nepal. Average global temperatures have increased by 1.3°C compared to the pre-industrial era. Worse, the Himalayan mountains are warming faster than the global average by 0.7°C because of elevation-dependent warming. A study conducted by our own Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in 2017 showed that the average temperature in Nepal has increased in the last four decades. Scientists say this is leading to extreme weather unleashing floods and landslides on slopes already destabilized by seismicity.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Right climate for Nepal’s energy transition NT"> <figcaption>BIBLICAL RAIN: Photo taken during catastrophic rain on 27-28 September at the Upper Tamakosi project site that destroyed the control room, killing four staff and burying the sedimentation tanks. Photo: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  Increased atmospheric temperatures has made the monsoon rains more erratic. It does not rain when it is supposed to, and it comes down in torrents when it is not supposed to. The September floods happened two weeks after the monsoon was supposed to retreat from central Nepal. Kathmandu Valley received half its annual precipitation in just over a day. &nbsp; Winter precipitation has also failed, especially in the high mountains and trans-Himalayan valleys. Thirteen of the past 19 years experienced winter drought. This impacts on dry season flows of the rivers, reducing hydropower generation. Nepal’s power capacity normally goes down by one-fourth during winter, but the gap is widening. The Kabeli corridor could only generate 20MW November-March even though plants there have an installed capacity of 200MW. Similarly, Upper Tamakosi only produced 65MW at most against its 456MW capacity last winter. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) pays producers double the price for winter electricity, Rs8.40 per unit. Even though winter operation is highly profitable the rivers run low and NEA has to import from India to meet the winter demand. “This is not just a weather problem but a serious challenge also for the country's energy future, good climate-friendly design should be combined with policy and effective implementation,” says Subarna Das Shrestha, a hydropower investor and CEO of Sanima Mai Hydropower. “Insurance premiums have gone up as well, and settlement for damage is not timely.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment">Hydropower investment</a> at one time was regarded as having a high rate of return. Now, some investors have become <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">wary of the risks involved</a>. Says IPPAN’s Uttam Blon Lama: “Hydropower projects expected to give stable returns are now looking risky. Not only is climate adaptation design and planning expensive, but future repair and maintenance costs will also skyrocket.” Nepal has only one storage type dam <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">in Kulekhani</a> and another one is being built in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">Tanahu</a>, but they are also at risk. In September, the sluice gates of Kulekhani Dam had to be opened causing loss of life and destruction downstream. Nepal has to learn lessons from the deadly collapse of the $1 billion <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Chungthang Dam in Sikkim</a> in October 2023 cause by a glacial lake burst. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Nepal pose potentially catastrophic risk to infrastructure. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">Thame flood in August</a> was a relatively minor debris flow that damaged half of this village in the Everest region when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">two glacial lakes at 4,760m burst</a>. Luckily there was no loss of life. Of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">47 high-risk glacial lakes</a> in the eastern Nepal Himalaya, 21 are in Nepal and the rest are in rivers in China that are tributaries of the Arun and Bhote Kosi where Nepal has major hydropower plants under construction, or planned.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="871" height="648" loading="lazy" alt="Page 10-11 map #1236 NT"> </figure>  Global temperature rise is accelerating the melting of Himalayan snow and ice, increasing the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-below-nepal-s-melting-mountains">number and size of glacial lakes</a> so that we do not even have names for them. Imja Tso did not even exist in the old trekking maps until 25 years ago, but is now a 2km long lake. “Natural moraine dams in the mountains are weak, and the projects downstream can face major destruction if they burst, and the risk will only increase in future,” warns climatologist Arun Bhakta Shrestha at the <a href="https://www.icimod.org/">International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)</a>. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/terrifying-assessment-of-a-himalayan-melting">An ICIMOD assessment in 2019</a> projected that if present heating trends continue, as they probably will, the Himalaya will lose two-thirds of our glaciers by the end of this century. “Generally speaking, hydropower developers hand over the project to the government after 30 years but by that time given the climate risks, they may not be an asset anymore,” says Manjeet Dhakal. Indeed, the cascade of expensive projects India is building on the Arun River are supposed to be handed back to Nepal in 25 years, but there is a big ‘if’ about whether they will survive that long. &nbsp;&nbsp; Planning of hydropower projects is still based on historical hydrological data, and does not take into account future temperature rise and its consequences. Investors, on the other hand, say that planning hydropower projects with climate components would make them even more expensive.&nbsp; “It’s not that we aren’t preparing for climate risk, we design keeping in mind the once-in-100-year flood,” says Blon of IPPAN. “But if we start designing based on once in 1,000 years flood, the cost would be so high that we won’t be able to build them at all.” Nonetheless, Subarna Das Shrestha of Sanima Mai Hydropower says that there is no option but to go for climate smart infrastructure despite the higher cost. Sanima Mai's powerhouse, for example, is completely underground. The strategy could also be to spread the risk by building less expensive plants located on rivers all over the country. Nepal is also diversifying away from its sole reliance on hydroelectricity, which at present supplies 92% of the power in the grid. Most of the rest comes from solar plants, where the total potential has not even been scratched. &nbsp; This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>  &nbsp;

human-rights-watch