As a Dalit girl is denied a room to rent, an int’l report highlights poor representation of Dalits in  state’s judicial, law enforcement agencies – myRepublica

Kathmandu, June 23: As of last week, the Nepalese press and social media have been full of news about a Dalit girl being denied a room in Kathmandu, exposing deeply ingrained caste-based discrimination in Nepal. Rupa Sunar, a journalist from the Dalit community, was refused a room to rent by a landlady in Kathmandu because she learned that she belonged to a so-called lower caste. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal, the country’s Criminal Code, and the Caste-Based Discrimination and Untouchability (Insult and Punishment) Act 2011 prohibit all forms of discrimination against vulnerable communities, including Dalits.

After a complaint from Sunar, the landlady was arrested under the box-based Discrimination and Untouchability Act (insult and punishment) of 2011.

That same week, last Saturday, an international report on Dalit issues in Nepal was published, containing a detailed assessment of the challenges and opportunities for the Dalit justice education community across South Asia. The first report, produced by the American Bar Association-Center for Human Rights, describes its assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing the Dalit justice community in Nepal. The second will deal with Dalit issues in Bangladesh and the third will deal with Dalit issues in India. The overall report is entitled “Challenges for Dalits in the Legal Community of South Asia”, while the first report, “Dalit Justice Defenders in Nepal”, evaluates the lack of representation of Dalits in the judicial sector and its impact on access to justice for the Dalit community in general which propose both regional and country-specific recommendations to improve this situation.

“Untouchability” or the segregation of a certain class of people based on their ancestry has moved on for centuries, so that members of the “untouchable class” or “Dalits” are still exposed to social, economic and political discrimination in South Asia, including Nepal.

In its main findings, the report states that Dalits are not effectively represented in the state’s judicial and law enforcement agencies. “Although certain legal provisions were created to help the Dalit community, its members still face discriminatory challenges when they do jobs in the country’s public service, including the police. In addition, there are only five Dalit judges in the country and few members of the community. “Practicing Dalits are not effectively represented in the state’s judicial and law enforcement agencies,” it said in its summary.

Of the nearly 30 million inhabitants of Nepal, Dalits have three million inhabitants.

The report complains that the authorities and commissions charged with enforcing the ban on caste discrimination are performing poorly and making little progress in the judiciary.

“Not only is the lack of representation a problem in itself, but access to justice is hampered by this lack of representation, as victims of caste discrimination or hate crimes are often left without effective remedies within the judicial system, both in cases conscious and unconscious bias by policy makers, lawyers, judges and the police prevent justice from being done to members of the Dalit community, “it said.

“While the Judicial Council Act of 2016 requires that judges be appointed with the aim of ‘inclusion’, as stated in the constitution, the Nepalese judiciary lacks the representation of the Dalit community. According to a 2018 report by the Justice Council Secretariat, of the 394 judges in Nepal’s top, top and district court levels, only 0.5% are members of the Dalit community, with no Dalit from the Madheshi Dalit community being the younger one History faces special challenges, ”it said.

Not only the judges, but also the number of Dalit lawyers in Nepal is small.

“There are currently approximately 448 senior advocates, 18,091 advocates, 8,078 pleaders and 1,105 writers (paralegals) working in Nepal’s jurisdictions. None of the senior advocates are Dalits Dalits who have been denied legal training in the past remain withheld legal opportunities despite recent trends for more Dalits to earn law degrees, “the report said.

The report argues that Nepal has the ability and legal obligation to increase the representation of Dalits in the judicial sector.

In its recommendations for solving the problem, the report recommends that all stakeholders – including government agencies, human rights commissions, bar associations, and NGOs – establish programs and capacity building to address caste-based biases and the representation of Dalits within the judicial sector. The report notes that current legal mechanisms in Nepal have often failed to put an end to crimes against Dalits and stresses the need in law and practice.

“Awareness, capacity building programs, training for government officials, including police, prosecutors and judges, and lawyers, are clearly needed. The low conviction rate in cases of discrimination or crimes against members of the Dalit community can be attributed to both the government officials’ lack of awareness of Dalit issues and the lack of representation of the Dalit community in the judicial sector, ”it said.

The report also highlights the need for adequate funding from the Nepal Human Rights Commission, the Nepal Bar Associaiton and the Nepal Bar Coucil to combat caste discrimination in the legal field. “National budgets should be Dalit-friendly, especially during a pandemic, and allocate funds to implement anti-discrimination and untouchability provisions in the constitution,” the report suggests.

In its recommendation to the international community, the report calls for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to follow up on the findings of its report, “Opening the Door To Equality: Access to Justice for Dalits in Nepal”, published a decade ago, as referred to in the report Issues continue to affect Dalit right-backs. It also wants the U.S. Department of Justice for Overseas Prosecutor Development, Support, and Training to leverage its solid relationship with the Nepalese Justice Academy to provide anti-bias training training to judges, prosecutors, and attorneys on caste-related issues.