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News
Civil
Society Forum on Peace, Development and Foreign Aid:
Civil Society Concerns (14-15 February 2008
Kathmandu)
Right a week before the start of
Nepal Donors Coordination Meeting (NDCM) by the government
of Nepal, the civil society organizations (CSOs) of
Nepal have scheduled a civil society forum (CSF) on
Peace, Development and Foreign Aid: Civil Society
Concerns for 14 and 15 February 2008 in Kathmandu.
The forum, organised by the CSOs working in various
fields including democracy, human rights, peace, development
and constitutional issues, and coordinated by the
NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN), is aimed at bringing
the concerns of the grassroots people together with
dalit, janajati, women, people with different abilities,
geographically disadvantaged, poor peasants and squatters,
workers, youths and other marginalised groups on people's
perspectives in the peace process and the development
priority in changing political context of Nepal and
providing inputs and feedbacks to the NDCM scheduled
for 20-22 February 2008.
While the government has set agenda
for discussion during the NDCM around economic reform
and aid effectiveness, peace process, governance and
constitutional issues, among others, the CSOs are
set to discuss the themes as:
- Role and importance of CSOs in
the peace process in Nepal
- How the different interests of
the people can be negotiated through constituent
assembly elections
- Equitable and justifiable restructuring
of the state: how development partners can be a
help in Nepal
- Building peace from below:
rehabilitation, reconciliation, reintegration and
reconstruction
On the first day, the CSF will be
inaugurated jointly by Honourable Speaker Subhash
Chandra Nemwang and Singer Ani Choing Dolma on 14
February at International Convention Hall, New Baneshwar,
amidst a mass gathering attending by the representatives
of government, ministries, National Planning Commission,
members of interim parliament, CSOs, NGOs and donor
including UN agencies. The inaugural session will
be addressed by the guests Honourable Minister for
Finance Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Honourable Minister for
Women, Children and Social Welfare Pampha Bhusal,
civil society leader Dr Mathura Prasad Shrestha and
columnist CK Lal, representatives from donor agency
and INGOs. Similarly, representatives of various interest
groups from 75 districts of Nepal will put their concerns
in the inaugural sessions and suggest the government
the areas for development priorities in the current
context.
The second day will mark thematic
parallel discussion forums on the aforesaid themes
where ethnic groups, youths, dalits, , women, intellectuals,
peasant organizations, trade unions, human rights
organizations and other CSOs will attend and participate
in deliberations. Outcomes of the processes will be
presented to Nepal Donors Coordination Meeting.
The CSF is jointly organised by various civil society
networks including NGO Federation of Nepal, Human
Rights Alliance, Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities,
Dalit NGO Federation, National Dalit Network –
Nepal, National Network of Indigenous Women (NNIW),
Federation of Community Forest Users' Nepal, National
Federation of Disabled Nepal, National Land Rights
Concern Group, National Alliance of Women Human Rights
Defenders, Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Users' Nepal, Campaign for Human Rights and Social
Transformation-Nepal (CAHURAST), HIMAWANTI –
Nepal, National Federation of Irrigation Water Users'
Association – Nepal, Inter Federation Women Network
and Joint Forum for Human Rights.
CSOs suggest parties to incorporate
people's agenda in CA election manifesto
 A
delegation team of civil society organisations representing
as many as 22 federations, alliances, networks and
forums working in various fields including democracy,
human rights, peace, constituent assembly, social
justice, inclusion and poverty eradication met with
the top leaders of seven political parties in their
respective offices on 8-10 February 2008 and handed
over people's agenda on various issues. The delegation
team suggested the leaders to incorporate the people's
agenda in their election manifesto to be brought to
the public for constituent assembly (CA) and urged
to address them in the new constitution to be drafted
through the resultant CA election. The organisations
collated the people's agenda through workshops, interactions,
discussions, awareness and civic education campaign
in all 75 districts on constituent assembly, its process
and importance, restructuring of the state and its
possible basis, among others. The people's agenda
makes a mention of political, economic, social and
cultural issues and also pools the possible basis
of federal restructuring of the state as suggested
by the people in the community.
 The
delegation team met Nepali Congress Leader and Member
of Election Manifesto Drafting Committee (EMDC) of
the party Narahari Acharya, Communist Party of Nepal
– UML Leader and the Coordinator of the party
EMDC Jhalanath Khanal and Leader Suresh Karki, Communist
Party of Nepal – Maoist Leader Prashant, General
Secretary of People's Front Nepal and the Coordinator
of the party EMDC Ghanashyam Sharma Poudel and Leader
Yukta Bhetwal, Nepal Workers' and Peasant Party Leader
and the Member of the party EMDC Prem Suwal and Unite
Left Front Leader CP Mainali including others. Talking
to the delegation team, the leaders reiterated that
there is CA election on schedule and they are ready
to solve all problems of the people through constituent
assembly. Meanwhile, they added the suggestions that
the civil society organisations have given to them
would be instrumental to make the election manifesto
objective and realistic.
The delegation team comprised the
members of Campaign for Constituent Assembly, a loose
network of civil society organisations including NGO
Federation of Nepal,  Federation
of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN), Human
Rights Alliance, Dalit NGO Federation, Centre for
Micro-Finance (CMF Nepal), DABALI Theatre, Federation
of Nepalese Journalists, Forum for Protection of Human
Rights (FOPHUR), Kirat Rai Yayokkha, Nepal Bar Association
(NBA), Nepal Press Institute (NPI), Nepal Society
of the Disabled (NSD), Newa Dey Daboo, Rural Community
Development Service Council (RCDSC), Rural Women Creative
Form (RWCF) & Alliance, Sancharika Samuha, SOLVE
Nepal & Alliance, South Asia Partnership-Nepal
(SAP-N), National Development Network (NDN), Young
Star Club, Solukhumbu, Consortium of Eastern Terai
Ethnic/Indigenous Groups, Jhapa and Himalayan Conservation
and Development Association, Humla.
Secretariat
Campaign for Constituent Assembly
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