News
Nepalese Lawyers Strengthen Ties with ABA ROLI
During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., a group of Nepalese law professors and advocates met with representatives of ABA ROLI’s Asia Division. They came to discuss a critical and increasingly challenging moment for Nepal’s future—the election for the committee to rewrite Nepals’s constitution. Read more »»
Asian Lawyers and Judges Meet to Discuss Ways to Combat Corruption in Justice Sector
In partnership with the Lawyers Council of Thailand (TLC), the Rule of Law Initiative co-hosted a conference entitled “Anti-Corruption: The Role of Lawyers, the Bar and the Bench in Preventing and Combating Corruption Within the Justice System.” Read more »»
Programs
Building Grassroots Support for Democratic and Legal Reform
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative, Asia Division has a civic education project in Nepal entitled “Building Grassroots Support for Democratic and Legal Reform in Nepal.” This project aims to foster the development of the rule of law in Nepal through increased public support of the reform and peace process. Read more »»
Background
Since the fall of 2006, the Asia Division of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative has commenced a civic education project in Nepal that focuses on building grassroots support for democratic and legal reform. This project aims to foster the development of the rule of law in Nepal through increased public support of the reform and peace process. Under the project, the ABA is partnering with the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) to: build informed citizen networks at the community level and solicit input from the citizenry on its needs and concerns to present to policymakers; engage in broad-based public awareness campaigns through public outreach and media activities; and ensure that grassroots participation is an integral component of the reform process, particularly the constitution-drafting process. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
Upon the cessation of Nepal’s decade-long civil war in fall 2006, major political changes ensued. The government of Nepal, the Seven Party Alliance, and Maoist leaders held a series of peace summits and signed a peace accord on November 21, 2006 to formally end the civil war. The peace deal proposed resolutions on a number of issues relating to the composition of the interim government, the framework for the constituent assembly (CA) elections, management of small arms and private armies, and socio-economic development in the country. The agreement provided that the Maoist rebels would join the interim government and place their weapons under the supervision of the UN. In December, the parties reached agreement on the articles of the new interim constitution that would replace the country’s existing constitution. On April 1, 2007, the Maoists officially entered the interim government.
Against the backdrop of this political situation, the NBA engaged in efforts to develop community support and participation for the reforms through presentations in the capital, Kathmandu, and outlying regions to district bars to discuss the NBA-ABA project, specifically the expected role of local bars both as beneficiaries of and contributors to the project. Thereafter, the first activity under this project, an Issues Identification Workshop, took place in March 2007. The objective of the workshop, which was attended by senior lawyers, was to refine the issues and messages to be used in the public awareness campaign. The issues identified in that workshop will be the foundation for a training of trainers workshop. This workshop will train individuals from various districts in an effort to ensure a greater impact to the local communities in outlying districts.
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