A/HRC/61/41/Add.1 Indigenous peoples, Nepal replied to only 11 of the 28 communications it received between 2020 and 2025, while not having provided any response since December 2023. 35 In the past five years, mandate holders have expressed concerns about the high number of custodial deaths of Dalits, 36 about the alleged arbitrary arrest, detention and prosecution of pastor Keshav Raj Acharya, a member of the Christian religious minority in Nepal, 37 about the reported lynching of a group of young Dalit men 38 and the arbitrary killings, torture and custodial deaths of minorities, including the Madhesi and the Muslim minority communities, as well as Dalits.39 B. National framework 1. Constitutional framework 17. Although there are areas for improvement, the legal framework of Nepal is exemplary on many levels. The 2015 Constitution contains several human rights provisions with specific relevance for minorities. For example, the Constitution guarantees the right to equality and prohibits discrimination on the basis of “origin, religion, race, caste, tribe, sex, physical condition, condition of health, marital status, pregnancy, economic condition, language or region, ideology or on similar other grounds” (art. 18). It is the first constitution in the country’s history to recognize Dalit rights (art. 40), while establishing mechanisms that enable the proportional representation of Dalits across three layers of government, namely federal, provincial and local, as well as their right to social justice (art. 42). 18. In terms of freedom of religion and belief, the Constitution defines Nepal to be a “secular” State, while explaining that “secular” means “religious, cultural freedoms, including protection of religion, culture handed down from the time immemorial” (art. 4 (1)). Article 26 of the Constitution states that “each person shall be free to profess, practice and preserve his religion according to his faith”. This article is in tension with article 26 (3), which states that to “convert another person from one religion to another or any act or conduct that may jeopardize other’s religion is punishable by law”. 19. According to the Constitution, all languages spoken as a mother tongue in Nepal are the languages of the nation. While Nepali is the official language of Nepal, a province may, by provincial law, determine one or more languages of the nation spoken by most people within the province as its official language(s), in addition to the Nepali language. The Language Commission may decide other matters in relation to languages (arts. 6, 7 and 287 (6)). In addition, the Constitution guarantees that every person and community has the right to use their language, while every Nepalese community has the right to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civilization and heritage (art. 32). 2. Legislative and policy frameworks 20. The Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act was enacted in 2011 and criminalizes caste-based discrimination in public and private spheres. As expressed in 2023 by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Act fails to prohibit discrimination based on colour or national or ethnic origin, while also failing to prohibit direct and indirect forms of discrimination.40 Impunity for violations of the Act remains high due to a lack of adequate investigations and enforcement by Nepali police, including delays caused by the police or refusal by the police to file first information reports, the three-month limitation for filing a case, the lack of awareness by victims of the option to 35 36 37 38 39 40 6 All communications mentioned in the present report are available from https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments. See communication NPL 4/2024. See communication NPL 5/2022. See communication NPL 4/2021. See communication NPL 4/2020. See CERD/C/NPL/CO/17-23. GE.26-01953