Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KATHMANDU796
2009-08-27 09:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

NEPAL: CONSTITUTION UNLIKELY TO BENEFIT

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM NP 
pdf how-to read a cable
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FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
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RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000796 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: CONSTITUTION UNLIKELY TO BENEFIT
"UNTOUCHABLES"

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000796

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: CONSTITUTION UNLIKELY TO BENEFIT
"UNTOUCHABLES"


1. (U) Summary: Nepal's most disadvantaged group, the
"untouchable" Dalit caste, has successfully organized
political and advocacy NGOs over the past two decades, but
Nepal,s political parties have traditionally limited their
political influence. Nepali Dalits are seeking legal
protections in the constitution currently being drafted, but
political party leaders are preventing the Constituent
Assembly from considering Dalit concerns. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Charge met a group of four leading Dalits August
26, including: Bishendra Paswan, Constituent Assembly (CA)
member and Chairman, Dalit Janajati Party; Bhakta
Bishwakarma, Chair, Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare
Association; Moti Nepali, Chairman, Dalit Welfare
Association; and Durga Sob, President, Feminist Dalit
Organization.

ONE FIFTH OF POPULATION
--------------

3. (U) Dalits, or "untouchables", are considered the lowest
rung in the Hindu caste hierarchy. They account for
approximately 20 percent of the country's population, and are
spread across every district. They were quick to tell the
Charge they do not consider themselves an ethnic group; there
is no ethnic Dalit identity, per se. Instead Dalits are a
historically disadvantaged group. They are often the poorest
people in a community and have only minimal legal rights.
Dalits have the highest poverty levels in Nepal and the
lowest literacy rates and life expectancy.


4. (SBU) Durga Soba, from the Dalit Feminist Organization,
said Dalits face legal discrimination, such as prohibitions
on where they can go. The current interim constitution has
provisions prohibiting Dalit discrimination in the public
sphere but is worded in such a way that many types of private
discrimination still persist, especially in villages where a
person's caste is common knowledge.

POLITICALLY ACTIVE BUT INVISIBLE
--------------

5. (SBU) Since 1990, numerous Dalit advocacy NGOs have been
established across the country. (Note: In 1990 Nepal eased
restrictions on establishing non-governmental organizations.
End Note.) The NGOs estimated there are currently 12
national-level Dalit organizations and over 500 local
organizations. Local-level organizations have focused on
changing social discrimination within villages and districts,
while national organizations advocate for legal protections

and an end to social discrimination. According to Bhakta
Bishwakarma, these organizations are politically involved but
do not endorse political parties.


6. (SBU) All the guests expressed frustration with the major
political parties. They explained how the major parties
wooed Dalits during the 2008 elections but have since ignored
their concerns. In the 601 member CA there are 49 Dalits.
They are in all the major parties--23 Maoists, 11 Communist
Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninists, 9 Nepali Congress
(NC) members, and several from smaller parties. However, the
guests agreed these CA members were toothless tigers. They
were chosen by the parties because they were weak politicians
or because their allegiance to the party was stronger than
their concern for Dalit issues. Bishwakarma noted that of
the 25 political parties, 19 are headed by Brahmins. (Note:
Brahmins are Nepal's highest Hindu caste and represent
roughly 12 percent of the population. PM M.K. Nepal, NC
party leader G.P. Koirala, and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal
Dahal are all Brahmin. End Note.)


7. (SBU) Dalit members cannot easily speak out on Dalit
issues in the CA. Moti Nepali explained the parties are each
allotted specific periods of time for their members to speak,
but the party leadership must divide that time amongst its
members. None of the parties prioritize Dalit concerns, and
any member deviating from the approved talking points will
quickly find his or her voice permanently silenced in the CA

KATHMANDU 00000796 002 OF 002


hall. The only CA member free to speak on Dalit issues is
Bishwendra Paswan, who is the sole CA member from the Dalit
Janajati Party.


8. (SBU) While there is a "Dalit Caucus," the group exists
in name only, as the large parties do not allow their members
to attend Dalit caucus meetings. CA member Paswan said all
the parties feign interest in Dalit issues, but tell their
members the best way to improve the lives of Dalits is to
focus on party ideological agendas. Feminist Dalit leader
Sob said Dalit groups strongly believe in peaceful advocacy,
which is why no one pays attention.

WANTING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
--------------

9. (SBU) Dalit advocacy groups are focused on improving
their situation through the new constitution drafting
process. Unlike other major demographic groups, Dalits are
scattered throughout country, and thus are not advocating a
"Dalit state" in a new federal Nepal. The Dalit Welfare
Association, in coordination with other Dalit NGOs, has a
charter with four major demands for the new constitution,
including an end to the culture of "untouchability",
providing land to landless Dalits, creating an
affirmative-action education program for Dalits, and
requiring Dalits to be proportionally represented in all
areas of government and in political parties. They are
pessimistic this can be accomplished however, as all of the
major parties have largely ignored Dalit concerns in the
drafting process.

REQUEST U.S. ASSISTANCE
--------------

10. (SBU) The group thanked the United States for its
support of Dalit causes over years, including efforts to hire
Dalit employees at the Embassy, creating a Dalit intern
program, and USAID assistance programs focused on improving
the lives of Dalits. They asked the Embassy to take a more
active role in supporting Dalit rights in Nepal, particularly
in the drafting of the constitution, but did not respond when
Charge asked what specific steps the U.S. government should
take to assist.


11. (SBU) COMMENT: Dalit marginalization from the
constitution drafting process is a telling indicator of the
power wielded by political parties. Political battles within
the CA are intense, but they rarely cut across party lines,
even on issues of group rights. Equal rights and
anti-discrimination concerns will likely be addressed in the
constitution, as other powerful ethnic groups and religious
groups have similar requests. However, Dalit demands for
special programs are unlikely to gather much support.
MOON