Amnesty International Nepal’s activism began in Nepal in 1969 since when it has been actively engaged in furthering the human rights in Nepal and around the globe by keeping its membership base vibrant, agile, and responsive.
Nutan Thapaliya, a lawyer, who had traveled to the UK in 1969, had met with the founders of Amnesty International in London, and was influenced by the vision and mission of Amnesty International. He thought that an organization with the kind of AI’s activism was what was precisely needed in the then closed Panchyat regime of Nepal with several people in detention merely for their political faith. So, when he returned to Nepal, he met with his friends and started the campaings of Amnesty International calling for the release of political prisoners. Two years later, the Amnesty movement in Nepal received the status of a “section” at the International Council Meeting of Amnesty International in 1971.
Due to the difficult environment caused by the repressive Panchayat regime and other organizational difficulties, Amnesty Nepal as a Section was dissolved in 1982. However, the Amnesty movement survived and continued to thrive on in Nepal at the membership level as the very committed members at the groups level continued to engage in different activities to further the Amnesty International’s vision in Nepal and elsewhere.
After the restoration of democracy in 1990, the Amnesty International movement gained further strength in Nepal, and a Coordinating Structure led by Mr Chitra Niraula was constituted by the International Secretariat. Thereafter, AI movement in Nepal was again recognized as a Section of Amnesty International in 1993. Since then, AI Nepal has been actively engaged in furthering the human rights in Nepal and around the globe by keeping its membership base vibrant, agile, and responsive.