Madam Chairperson, Nepal is a multicultural, multilingual, multiethnic andmultireligious country.
Recent census survey report reveals that it is a home of 125 ethnic groups and castes, 123 mother
tongues and 1o religious demoninations. Nepal has taken constitutional and other legislative and
judicially adminsitrative, institutional and policy measures to fulfill the obligations emanated from the
international human rights instruments to which it is a party. The right to equality and
no-discrimination are the core pillars of the interim constitution, discrimination on any ground,
including caste based discrimination or untouchability is a criminal offence. A comprehensive
legislation was adopted last year to address the issue of caste based discrimination, the interim
constitution guarantees the rights of all communities to preserve their identity through promotion and
protection of their language, script, culture, artifact and cultural heritage. Each community has the
right to receive education in mother tongue.
Positive empowerment measures are being implemented since 2007 in government services which
have started to show significant positive impacts on the process of inclusion. Nepal has reserved 45
personal posts for the completion on the reservation category, the total of which is divided among
different groups, women 35%, indigenous and ethnic groups 27%, XX 22%, Dalits 9%, X people
and for the xx 4%. In order to enhance access to justice free legal aid services to the poor or other
disadvantaged groups are provided throughout the country. The development policy has been
designed with view to enamating the MDGs by 2015 and to uplift the social and economic standards
of the poor and downtrodden. Interim constitution envisages to carry out an inclusive democratic and
progressive restructuring of the state with a view to addressing the problems relating women, Dalits
and indigenous, tribes and minority communities and other disadvantaged groups by eliminating class,
caste, language, gender, culture, religious and regional disparaties. Finally my delegation views that it
is important to recognise and encourage the efforts made by the states for practical implementation of
the declaration despite conflicts they face.
Thank you Madam.