New York- Nepal presented its combined fourth and fifth periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women at the 49th Session of the Committee being held in New York on 11-29 July 2011.

The periodic report was required to be submitted as per the provision of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to which Nepal is a state party.

While presenting salient features of Nepal’s efforts towards its implementation, H.E. Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and the Leader of the Nepali Delegation to the 49th Session of the Committee, underscored that following the popular movement of April 2006 Nepal has made significant progress in the field of gender equality and women empowerment. He said that the 2006 Parliamentary Proclamation has created a wave of change in women’s representation as well as targetted programs to uplift the status of women in the country.

Ambassador Acharya highlighted that the Legislative parliament, which has about 33 per cent women parliamentarians, has continued to pass new and important legislations with a view to advancing gender equality as well as prohibiting violence or discrimination against women, including the National Commission on Women Act, 2006, the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007 and the Domestic Violence (Offence and Punishment) Act, 2009. He informed the Committee that many laws contain affirmative provisions to facilitate women’s access to, or involvement in, various spheres of public activities. Legislative moves are afoot to amend some 60 more discriminatory provisions in the law, to outlaw harmful social practices and to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Ambassador Acharya stressed that the Government of Nepal is committed to translating policies into practical programs for the mainstreaming of gender considerations in all sectors of development as well as encouraging women’s presence at all levels of authority. He mentioned that Nepal has adopted a gender responsive budgeting system. Referring to the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2011/12, he informed the Committee that 19 per cent budget would go directly to women related programs and 45 per cent would be indirectly responsive to closing the gender gap.
Permanent Representative Acharya also highlighted that the Government of Nepal had worked out a specific National Action Plan to make Nepal free from violence against women and girls. In that regard Nepal had declared 2010 as the Year against Gender-related violence as an effort to confront violence against women. He also stated that Nepal adopted five-year National Action Plan on Implementing the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820.  Similarly, he emphasized that Nepal has developed a range of programs to ensure women’s basic and reproductive health thereby made considerable progress in lowering the level of maternal mortality by reducing from 539 in 1996 to 281 in 2006 and further to 229 in 2009.

Ambassador Acharya stated that the Ministry of Education is taking a number of change initiatives for the promotion of right to education of women in general and those of marginalized groups like Dalits, Janajati, and Madhesis in particular in line with Government’s top priority to education, skill development of and training for women.

Mr. Anand Raj Pokhrel, Secretary of the Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare, outlined the activities in detail undertaken by the Ministry including the initiatives and programs dedicated to the upliftment of women, including through women development offices in 75 districts. He also delineated the institutional framework for women empowerment and gave information about the central level and district level policy initiatives the government has undertaken in various areas of promotion of women’s rights and empowerment in the country.
Similarly, Dr. Sudha Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, provided details on the health related issues of women in Nepal and the policy initiatives, implementation status and progress made in maternal health related issues, reproductive health issues and other relevant issues and challenges of women in Nepal.  
The other members of the delegation also responded to the concerns and questions raised on their respective fields by the members of the Committee.

The members of Nepalese delegation to the 49th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) consists of  Ms. Nain Kala Thapa, Chairperson, National Women Commission, Mr. Anand Raj Pokhrel, Secretary, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Dr. (Mrs.) Sudha Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Population, Mr. Kedar Poudel, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Mr. Dilli Raj Ghimere, Joint Secretary, Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Dr. Hari Paudel, Joint Secretary, Ministry Women, Children and Social Welfare, Dr. Lava Dev Awasthi, Director General, Department of Education, Mr. Ram Lal Bishwokarma, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare.    
The Committee members in general appreciated the efforts and progress made by Nepal over the years in various legal, institutional and other policy arenas, including through reservations and positive measures to end discrimination and promote empowerment of women in Nepal. They also made comments on the need for further consolidation of relevant measures to effectively and fully implement various provisions of CEDAW including on the harmful social practices, violence against women, trafficking and equality related issues.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is composed of twenty-three experts with expertise in the fields covered by the Convention. The Committee reviews the reports submitted by States parties and makes observations and necessary recommendations, which will be sent to the respective governments later. The Committee usually invites eight State Parties to present their reports at each three-week Session. In this 49th Session, along with Nepal, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Zambia are presenting their reports to the Committee.

21 July 2011

Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations
New York

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