A/HRC/61/41/Add.1 women secured elected positions at the local level in 2022.60 Dalit civil society organizations report that, while the representation of Dalit women at the local government level is acceptable, the meaningful participation of Dalit women remains limited, and they are frequently excluded from decision‑making processes and leadership roles.61 32. In terms of electoral rights, enabling Nepalis to vote in a district other than their own is a key measure for upholding and expanding the accessibility of voter rights. The cost of returning to one’s district of origin to exert voting rights has made it inaccessible for persons with limited financial capacity, which include most of the persons belonging to minorities and Dalits. This leads to socioeconomic discrimination in the exercise of democratic rights, which must be halted. This would be an important measure to enable minority groups living outside of their villages of origin for employment or educational reasons to cast their vote in the upcoming elections of 2026. 33. In addition to the National Human Rights Commission, the National Women Commission, the National Dalit Commission, the National Inclusion Commission, the Tharu Commission, the Muslim Commission, the Indigenous Nationalities Commission and the Madhesi Commission are each tasked with a distinct mandate to protect a marginalized group of concern. Overall, the commissions lack the financial resources to be fully effective in their advisory and awareness-raising roles. Moreover, the Government has failed to consistently consider the recommendations that are provided by the commissions. The National Human Rights Commission has made 1,446 recommendations to the Government since its establishment, yet only 13.66 per cent of the recommendations have been fully implemented, 35.09 per cent partially implemented and 51.23 per cent of the recommendations have not yet been implemented.62 According to a study conducted by the Justice and Rights Institute (Nepal), in which it analysed the rate of implementation of the commissions’ recommendations over the course of the period 2018–2021: 1 out of 75 recommendations by the National Dalit Commission was implemented by the Government of Nepal; 2 out of 94 recommendations by the Madhesi Commission; 3 out of 103 recommendations by the Muslim Commission; 2 out of 45 recommendations by the Tharu Commission; 3 out of 36 by the National Inclusion Commission; and none of the 22 recommendations by the Indigenous Nationalities Commission. 63 A committee comprising representatives from the National Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other line ministries has been reportedly formed to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission. 64 The Special Rapporteur strongly warns that the persistent disregard by the Government of Nepal for the recommendations of these commissions represents a serious failure to uphold its human rights obligations. He welcomes the commitment made by the Government of Nepal after his visit to improve this situation. 34. Being based in Kathmandu, there is a disconnect between the commissions and the communities that they are meant to protect. In this regard, it is critical for the commissions to establish provincial offices to enhance their engagement at the local level, if they are allowed to do so. It is concerning that the commissions can only receive complaints in Nepali or in English. Complaints in other mother tongue languages are handled on a case-by-case basis, depending on the language capacity of the staff at the commission concerned. A worrying observance is that these commissions are largely staffed by the dominant groups – minority and Dalit representation is severely lacking. It is unclear whether commissions can effectively address the needs of minority groups when their own staff lacks representation from those communities. 60 61 62 63 64 10 Ibid. See https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FINAL-Executive-Summary-and-Briefing-UPRNepal-4th-Cycle.pdf. See https://www.nhrcnepal.org/uploads/publication/NHRI_Nepal_Joint_Submission_.pdf. See https://jurinepal.org.np/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Final-NHRIs_Infographics-single-page1.pdf. A/HRC/WG.6/51/NPL/1, para. 21. GE.26-01953