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Forgotten
People: The Internally Displaced People of Nepal
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Why
are the Internally Displaced People of Nepal Forgotten?
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The
civil war in Nepal between Maoist rebels and government forces has affected
73 of the 75 districts in the country, and has led to more than 8,000 deaths
and widespread displacement. According to most estimates, 100,000 to 200,000
people, out of a population of approximately 26 million, have been displaced
in Nepal (although the Nepalese organisation Community Study and Welfare
Centre has recently reported that the number of displaced could be in the
range of 350,000-400,000).
The
Government of Nepal has largely ignored its obligations to provide protection
to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), especially those forced to
flee their homes due to action by the government forces. Although the civil
war and displacement have been going on since 1996, few UN agencies and
international NGOs have programs aimed at providing assistance to the IDPs.
According to an analyst on the IDP situation in Nepal, "the involvement
of the international community in the issue is so far limited to some NGOs
conducting small IDP-targeted programs and UN agencies setting up [an]
information system to monitor food deficits, health security and population
displacement, albeit very recently." The IDPs in Nepal have received less
attention and assistance than refugees from other countries who have sought
asylum in Nepal.
 The
People and the Land |
Nepal,
a landlocked country bordered by India and Tibet, is about the size of
the state of Arkansas. The United Nations estimates that over half the
population of Nepal lives in poverty, with few people in rural areas having
access to sanitation facilities or potable water. Life expectancy in Nepal
is 59 years, and the literacy rate is below 30 percent. Nepal is faced
with a lack of educational opportunities for its children, poor health
facilities, deforestation, soil erosion, and a dependence on subsistence
agriculture. The country has seen 12 governments in the past eight years
and made the transition from absolute monarchy to multiparty democracy
only in the spring of 1990.
Nepal's
population is made up of over 40 different races and tribes. The two major
groups in Nepalese society are Tibeto-Burmans, or Mongoloids, from the
north, and Indo-Aryans from the south. The majority of the population is
Hindu
(86.2%), followed by 7.8% Buddhists, 3.8% Muslims, and 2.2% others. The
official language is Nepali, though there are about a dozen other languages
and about 30 major dialects.
| Anatomy
of the Conflict |
The
ongoing conflict in Nepal is a result of a complex combination of social,
economic, and political problems. A monarchic government has been
in power in Nepal since 1962. The multiparty democracy introduced
in 1990 made no difference in economic conditions of Nepalese people
nor did it bring about any real transformation in the country's political
culture. Poverty, along with a weak government, no real transition from
autocratic to democratic rule, and absence of efforts to address caste
and ethnic problems, resulted in a period of instability which led to the
rise of the Maoists. In February 1996, a group of rebels led by the
Communist Party of Nepal and the United People's Front, both organisations
of Maoist orientation, launched a "people's war" against the Nepalese state.
The purpose of this war was to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with
a republic, and as the multiparty system established in 1990 had
not brought about any change, in the views of the Marxists, the system
too had to be replaced. ced.
Throughout
the late 1990s, the Maoists attacked police outposts, but until November
2001, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) was not permitted to get involved in
the fighting. At first the Maoist operations were limited to western
districts of Rolpa and Rukum, but during the years the RNA did not act,
the Maoists expanded their operations in various parts of the country,
and attracted new recruits. Peace talks were started between the government
and the Maoists in August 2001, but the latter walked out of negotiations
in November, broke the ceasefire, and the fighting resumed.
A
second cease fire began in January 2003, and during negotiations the
Maoists demanded the drafting of a new constitution to limit the King's
powers. Recently the Maoists have agreed to accept the multiparty system,
but also call for elections to be held for a constituent assembly, which
would then draft a new constitution and decide the outcome of the monarchy.
Despite several rounds of talks, the two sides could not come to an agreement,
as the government opposed the idea of creating the constituent assembly
(although it did agree to revisions being made to the existing constitution),
and the peace talks broke down in August.
Since
then the humanitarian and human rights situation in Nepal has deteriorated.
The conflict is expected to escalate as the government creates local civilian
militias - made up of untrained and undisciplined civilians - and if the
Maoists' fulfill claims that they are planning to raise a militia of 50,000
children by April 2004.
| Humanitarian
Conditions |
Following
the breakdown of peace talks in August 2003, Nepal has been experiencing
the highest level of violence since the start of the armed conflict in
1996. As pointed out by Amnesty International, there has been an exponential
increase in violations of human rights by both sides to the conflict, including
arbitrary arrests, disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture, including
rape, and other serious human rights abuses.
More than 2,000 people
have been killed since August 2003, including a substantial number
of civilians, and the majority of the killings have been done by the state.
The Norwegian Refugee Council has noted that people have been fleeing their
villages to escape being caught in the crossfire, which has led to the
breakdown of education, closure of businesses, weakening of local economies,
and interruption of public services. The elderly, women, children and poor
villagers are often less able to flee, and they have ended up staying behind
to face worsening poverty, food shortages, and harassment by Maoist and
security forces.
The
Maoists have targeted private schools, leading to the closure of 700 schools,
and 3,000 teachers being displaced from district schools. Many young
children have been forced to flee to urban or semi-urban areas, unhygienic
conditions and hostile environments.
The United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least 30,000 children
have been separated from their families and forced into labor.
Meanwhile
according to Amnesty International, Maoists recruit children, including
girls, and deploy them in combat situations. Child recruits have reportedly
been used in some cases as fighters and human shields, as well as messengers
and porters.
Government
assistance to IDPs has been very limited. The government set up compensation
and resettlement funds for victims of the conflict, such as the Victims
of Conflict Fund under which IDP families were entitled to an equivalent
of US$1.30 per day, but most of the money was spent by July 2002. All those
displaced after July 2002 were therefore excluded from assistance and official
recognition. Another problem with the government assistance is that it
has only been provided to people displaced by the Maoists, and not to those
displaced by the government security forces.
Official
data collection on displaced people has tended to mask the displacement
problem. Authorities have not encouraged displaced people to come forward
with their problems, and people remain reluctant to register as displaced
persons for fear of retaliation or being suspected as rebel sympathizers.
Moreover, government data has excluded people directly or indirectly affected
by the actions of security forces and the politicized compensation system.
Furthermore, the government has not facilitated access for humanitarian
organisations.
The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been denied access
to people arrested and wounded in the conflict.
According
to one NGO worker, "the conflict generated displacement has become a serious
issue in Nepal and the human sufferings have been enlarging day by day
but it seems that the IDP issue has not been accepted as a high priority
by the government."
The
few aid agencies that focus on assisting IDPs find it difficult to carry
out their programs due to poor security conditions in rural areas. Aid
agencies, however, are trying to address the information void that has
complicated assistance to the IDPs.
Refugees
International, therefore, recommends that:
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The
Government of Nepal develop a national policy towards IDPs, which does
not differentiate between those displaced by security forces or rebels. |
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The
Government of Nepal facilitate access for humanitarian organisations. |
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International
aid agencies, in collaboration with the Government of Nepal, assess the
needs of the IDPs and create programs to address their needs. |
by
Kavita Shukla
Kavita
Shukla is Advocacy Associate with Refugees International
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External
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