A/HRC/61/41/Add.1 Raute community, the Badi community and other Dalits. For example, in Karnali Province, many in the Badi community are landless and face severe discrimination in access to proper housing, leading them to live in temporary shelters, exposed to the threat of wild animals and other environmental hazards, and lacking proper water and sanitation. 28. Forced evictions of Dalits and landless communities occupying land under informal tenure are also too frequent. In February 2025, a Dom family was forcibly evicted from a house in Siraha, in which they had lived for approximately 30 years.52 Built on public land, their house was bulldozed at the orders of the rural municipality’s chairperson to make way for a mahayagya (grand Hindu ritual), as the presence of the Dom family was believed to make the area “impure”. While the National Human Rights Commission started an investigation into this case of caste-based discrimination, it has borne no fruit and justice remains pending. 29. Several health issues exist for which specific groups need targeted attention from the authorities. For example, over 90 per cent of the diagnosed cases of sickle cell anaemia concern members of the Tharu community. 53 They are highly vulnerable due to the high prevalence of the sickle cell trait and the disease itself. There is a lack of facilities available to diagnose and treat Tharus experiencing sickle cell anaemia. Often residing in remote areas in the Terai plains, Tharus have to travel long distances in order to carry out simple blood tests. In 2014, the Government of Nepal recognized that the Tharu community experiences sickle cell anaemia at higher rates than the rest of society – thanks to the campaigning of a member of the parliament who advocated for his community.54 This case shows why political representation of minority communities is crucial. B. Inclusive governance and effective participation 30. While the Constitution contains provisions to guarantee proportional participation in State organs, their composition is far from adequately and proportionally representing Nepalese society, especially minorities and Dalits. The Civil Service Act (1993) mandates affirmative action measures by reserving 45 per cent of all open competition civil service posts for women and other historically marginalized groups, including Madhesis and Dalits (art. 7 (7)). Despite a noted upward trend in the participation of women and other historically marginalized groups in the civil service,55 it remains disproportionately low compared with their demographic presence in society. Overall, Dalits represent less than 2.37 per cent of positions in the civil service, while less than 2 per cent of posts are filled by Dalits in the judiciary.56 The civil society organization Dignity Initiative informed the Special Rapporteur that, in addition to no Dalit ever having been appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court, Dalits are severely underrepresented in law enforcement, the prosecution service and other decision-making positions, undermining both community trust in the legal system and equitable access to justice. 31. The House of Representatives Election Act (2017) requires every political party to reserve seats for Dalits (13.8 per cent) on the list of candidates for proportional representation in the House of Representatives.57 In practice, Dalits make up 6.2 per cent of the Federal Parliament and 5.6 per cent of the provincial assemblies. 58 Section 6 (2) of the Local Level Election Act (2017) reserves two seats for women in every ward – one in each specifically designated for a Dalit woman.59 As a direct outcome of this affirmative measure, 6,620 Dalit 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 GE.26-01953 See https://kathmandupost.com/province-no-2/2025/10/24/dom-families-in-siraha-face-evictionassault-and-caste-based-humiliation. See www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/nepali-community-burdened-high-rates-sickle-cell-anemia-seeksupport. Ibid. A/HRC/WG.6/51/NPL/1, para. 126. See https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FINAL-Executive-Summary-and-Briefing-UPRNepal-4th-Cycle.pdf. A/HRC/WG.6/51/NPL/1, para. 54. See https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FINAL-Executive-Summary-and-Briefing-UPRNepal-4th-Cycle.pdf. A/HRC/WG.6/51/NPL/1, para. 127. 9