On 13 June, Amnesty International Nepal organised an event in collaboration with Justice and Rights Institute Nepal (JuRI-Nepal) and Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) in Kathmandu to share Amnesty International’s analysis and key comments and recommendations on the Right to Housing Act 2018.
The Government of Nepal enacted the Right to Housing Act in September 2018 as part of its constitutional obligation to implement the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal. Article 37 of the Constitution guarantees the right to adequate housing as a fundamental right. International human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) ensure right to adequate housing.
Speaking at the event Basanta Adhikari, Executive Director of JuRI-Nepal highlighted the background of Amnesty’s collaborative efforts with a number of civil society organisations working in the field of economic, social and cultural rights in Nepal which culminated in the Analysis of the Right to Housing Act as well as the previously unveiled Analysis on the Right to Food and Food Sovereignty Act.
The report was then unveiled by Former Chief Justices Hon. Kalyan Shrestha and Hon. Sushila Karki, and Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, Hon. Govinda Sharma Paudyal.
Making a brief presentation on the report, Amnesty International’s South Asia researcher Raju Chapagai noted that the enactment of the law is a positive step towards realisation of the right to housing. However, he said, the law needed to be amended in order to make it consistent with the Constitution and international human rights obligations. He shared some of the points of concerns as well as recommendations on the Act.
In the discussion that followed, participants raised the environmental concerns in the context of right to housing given the rise in pollution occasioned by the ongoing road expansion work in Kathmandu. Some expressed their concerns on how the government’s development initiatives including the road expansion drive are rendering people homeless in many places.
Former Chief Justice Hon. Sushila Karki appreciated Amnesty’s analysis of the Act and stressed that the right to adequate housing remains a far cry to many underprivileged people in Nepal, and therefore the government should envision a broad master plan to secure the right to adequate housing for all.
NHRC Commissioner Govinda Sharma Paudyal thanked Amnesty International for undertaking the analysis of the Acts enacted by the government, and said the report is an important resource for the policy-makers, advocates and researchers. He also expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s non-transparent and non-consultative approach while enacting the laws relating to the fundamental rights.
Speaking at the event, former chief Justice Hon. Kalyan Shrestha, also the chief guest of the event, appreciated Amnesty’s efforts in highlighting the flaws of the Act, and asked the government to pay attention to the recommendations and amend the law as required. He also questioned if the fundamental rights laws were enacted to ensure people’s rights as envisioned in the constitution or to just overcome the technical burden of the three years’ time limitation as set by the Constitution. He then called on the government to heed public concerns of all kinds with patience and open mind, and welcome the public feedback, comments, suggestions and grievances as a way to move forward.
The event ended with Jagat Basnet, former executive director of CSRC, stating that the right to housing should be viewed in the larger context of the situation of landlessness that the people of marginal background are facing globally. He shared how deruralisation and depeasantisation is rendering more and more people in situations of homelessness.
You can listen to the full speech of Hon. Kalyan Shrestha here.
Find the English version of the Analysis here.
Find the Nepali version of the Analysis here.
Find the Nepali version of the Press Statement here.
Find the English version of the Press Statement here.
You can also listen to the full discussion of the event here.