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Status & Trends 2001
Page 2 of 3
 This
reporting period saw tremendous progress in south/south and
south/north cooperation. Despite many problems the CO handled the
Youth Cooperation Programme (YCP) quite successfully. MS Nepal
took active part in "Conflicts: new Perspectives" project as part
of global action in Denmark. A follow up plan is already in place.
The CO is also about to contribute to the production of an
internet book on conflict resolution, an idea generated from the
Home Office level. Likewise, two representatives from BASE
participated in a UN-sponsored seminar on contemporary forms of
slavery" in Geneva, where government delegates were also present,
and raised the crucial issues of Kamaiya at the level of
international forum. For the first time in MS Nepal's history MS
Nepal organized an international gender workshop bringing together
colleagues from Denmark, Africa and Nepal. A PO attended the
organizational capacity building workshop and the TCDC anniversary
function at TCDC recently and the Communication Coordinator also
had an opportunity to participate in an advocacy workshop at TCDC.
A partner representative from DCRDC participated in the 3rd
UN Conference of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in
Brussels, Belgium this year. All these Nepalese
representatives availed themselves of these opportunities to meet
people, share ideas and establish contacts thereby marking the
beginning of some sort of networking.
A
group of 10 Nepalese young men and women representing five MS
partners recently visited various advocacy, human rights and
theatre organizations in India to explore how theatre can be used
as a tool for bringing about a positive social change peacefully.
They are about to leave on a study tour of Denmark in mid-January
under the "village theatre" programme supported by the Democracy
Fund. MS Nepal welcomes Danish students willing to come to Nepal
as interns, as per necessity, and is ready to provide all possible
assistance to them.
Constraints
More
than a decade after the restoration of democracy the country today
stands at a crossroads once again. Despite such provisions as
multiparty parliamentary democratic form of governance, guarantee
of all fundamental human rights, rule of law, adult franchise,
separation of executive, legislative and judicial power,
constitutional monarchy, press freedom and equality before law
enshrined in the present constitution, the country's democracy has
not been able to take the right course. In the last 11 years,
there has been a tremendous progress in terms of political
consciousness, political debates and intense political
participation. However, there has been little progress in most
other human capability-related fronts during this period.
 The
Maoist group, which had somehow emerged as another major operative
political force, though legally unrecognized by the constitution,
has recently been declared a "terrorist group" and is facing
severe military action following the declaration of a state of
emergency in November this year after about six long years of
bloody insurgency. Even though all opposition parties and most of
Nepal's friendly countries have supported the declaration of
emergency taken by the government to quell terrorism, their
acquiescence to the imposition of emergency cannot be taken for
granted. Since the imposition of emergency could also be
politically motivated, apart from the requirement of the
exigencies prevailing in the country, to imagine that the
government might try to prolong it as far as they can, would not
be totally out of context. However, the army is fully capable of
crushing the rebellion in shortest possible time. Many patriotic
people very strongly believe that the promulgation of emergency in
the country could be well utilized by the government not only to
"finish off the terrorists" but also to curb corruption, nab,
investigate and punish the corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and
businessmen.
Despite five decades of developing planning and foreign assistance
flow, Nepal's underdevelopment is still acute. The macroeconomic
environment is characterized by structural imbalances on different
fronts. The country ranks among the most debt-ridden in the world.
The rising debt servicing liability and other regular expenditures
of the government are hampering resource allocation to the
development process and poverty reduction. Absence of the
prioritization of resources, unscientific expenditure pattern and
non-application of sound project management principles have
severely restricted the utilization of the productive potential of
the nation and slowed economic growth. Foreign resources are being
accepted and used without adhering to any definite policy. Even
when the government comes up with some initiatives regarding
proper utilization of aid, the donors being mostly concerned with
pushing forward their individual aid strategies, are reluctant to
respect and respond to government priorities. As a consequence,
aid resources are under-utilised and the debt servicing capability
of the economy has not improved.
Meanwhile, the government is set to divert about 30 percent of the
total development funds to meet the operational costs of the
current security activities. That means a whopping Rs. 15 billion
could be sliced from the total development allocation of Rs. 50.47
billion thereby creating an unprecedented pressure on development.
The insurgency together with the Sept. 11 attack in the US had an
adverse effect on the Nepalese economy. Decline in Foreign Direct
Investment, heavy decline in tourist arrivals (by 50 %), decreased
volumes of exports to Europe and the USA, closing down of several
industries and hotels are some of the glaring examples.
 Socio-culturally, Nepali society is characterized by its
pluralistic nature and extreme diversity. The society is
stratified on various grounds such as ethnicity/caste, gender,
income, class, age and the likes. Patriarchy is expressed by
gender discrimination. Women have a low status and they are very
largely excluded from the public domain despite the constitutional
guarantee of equal treatment. The poor also suffer a variety of
cultural exclusions. Such groups face severe barriers against the
use and enhancement of capabilities. Despite some progress in
access to education, health, drinking water etc; in the last 26
years, the rate of change is not only very low but also marks a
high level of regional, economic and social inequality.
Security Situation
With
the government declaring the Maoists terrorists and imposing a
State of Emergency (SoE) on November 25 to quell "terrorist
activity" the people are feeling quite secure, at least in the
capital city. Security arrangements have been beefed up throughout
the country. However, people in the villages are still in the fear
of being caught in crossfire. It will be premature to conclude
right away that the uneasy calm that the country is seeing today
will turn into a lasting peace. Despite some sporadic and isolated
cases of Maoist killings including the incidents of security
personnel caught in booby traps, the army seems to be gaining the
upper hand. Since there is no other source of information except
whatever is leaked on by the official spokesman, it is quite
difficult to assess the exact situation. Still, there seems to be
little doubt that the Maoists are at the receiving end.
Only a
few of MS Nepal's partner organizations are in so called Maoist
stronghold areas, which no longer remain as their strongholds
though. Regular partner activities are continuing smoothly and
without any restriction but activities like sit-ins, processions
and press conferences which used to be organized to build pressure
on the government for specific purposes like proper rehabilitation
of ex-Kamaiyas, strict implementation of anti-discrimination laws
etc. have not been possible due to the emergency. Movement of
people in general including foreigners in any part or from one
part to another part of the country has remained unaffected
despite frequent and strict security checks along the routes.
Human
Rights Situation
With
the imposition of Emergency almost all fundamental rights have
remained suspended. The suspension of the fundamental rights and
the curbs on press freedom generated by the promulgation of
Emergency could hamper the normal development and maintenance of
democratic norms and behaviour, if continued for a longer period.
Although the government has said that the army will be used only
against the "terrorists", the press has too come directly or
indirectly under their action. In almost three weeks since the
declaration of emergency people have not received actual
information about even the casualties on any of the army and
Maoist sides. The opposition parties, civil society organizations
including human rights groups and the donor community are in one
or the other way expressing their displeasure at the suspension of
civil rights. They are also cautioning the government against
restriction on independent media coverage of the situation and
possible prolonging of the state of emergency.
Except
the provision for habeas corpus, every other provision for the
courts of law to provide justice has been paralyzed. Although
people feel a little bit secure than they were before, they do not
feel free. The ex-Kamaiyas, who resorted to sit-ins and picketing
government offices concerned to make their voice heard cannot do
this, the Dalits (untouchables) are afraid of agitating for their
rights, the press is not in a position to criticize the government
and security forces for their wrong doing, if any, the political
parties and human rights organizations too are keeping mum, and
the people in general are keeping their fingers crossed. To
conclude human rights in the country are now in suspended
animation. The newly established Human Rights Commission has not
been able to function as desired and human rights violations are
on the rise, not to talk of the extent of violations generated by
the emergency. Some positive programmes that the government had
announced earlier this year for the rights and well-being of
women, ex-Kamaiya, Dalits and other minority groups are now in a
limbo. The process of forming a national commission for women's
rights has not been able to pick up. The state of emergency, which
though might hopefully put a full stop to "terrorist activity", is
likely to add a huge figure to the casualties (about 2500) already
caused by the insurgency.
MS
NEPAL PROGRAMME 2001
Annual
Meeting
Forums
like annual meeting and partner seminar held once every year, and
policy advisory board meetings, at least four in a year, have
proved important for major policy dialogue. With a view to
ensuring active participation of partners in dialogues the CO has
planned to organize this year's annual meeting in a slightly
different manner. The idea is to select various issues in
consultation with partners and allow them to discuss separate
issues in different groups and finally come up with concrete
conclusions to share at a plenary and finalize the conclusions.
However, one or two major themes and issues to be raised from CO's
side will be discussed in a plenary.
Partner Seminar
Besides the discussions on several other relevant topics the
August 16-18 partner seminar laid much emphasis on methods of
conflict management. Although, adequate time was not available to
devote to the theme only, participants came up with many useful
ideas as they were very much familiar with the theme due to their
involvement in one or the other activities carried out throughout
the year as part of Global Action. Another highlight of the
seminar was a discussion on the need of a security code of
conduct. This was important in view of the change in the security
status of the country. A representative of the gender networking
group formed after the eight women's Denmark visit under Democracy
by Women programme, made a presentation on the achievements of the
visit. She also presented a one-year Plan of Action and Strategy
developed by the group and activities being carried out following
their return. A small workshop on Partner Networking and Regional
Partnership Meeting was also organized at the initiative of the
participants. This marked the beginning of discussions on how the
MS partners maintain their own network even after MS stops support
them.
Policy
Advisory Board (PAB)
Unlike
last year when seven meetings were organised, the PAB met four
times this year. Besides general issues each PAB meeting gave
priority to one major issue selected from among the issues
identified by the PAB members. Major issues discussed at this
year's meetings include, information, communication and advocacy
strategy, MS Nepal gender plan of action, Rio +10, sustainable
development, partnership, management, intercultural cooperation,
strengthening gender working group MS Nepal language policy.
Translation of issues/ideas discussed at the PAB meetings into
action is under way. The PAB also provided inputs to the
preparation for annual events like partner seminar and annual
meeting. Recently, the advisory board participated in a workshop
held in December to assess the impact of partnership programme at
beneficiary level and provided its inputs. The PAB has, thus,
assisted the CO in reflecting on and learning from the activities
of the partners, and has been able to provide guidelines to the
programme and the partners. Also, the PAB has given valuable
feedback to policy proposals from Denmark so as to help new
guidelines for MS works in all country programmes.
Country Office Level
Status
of the Programme
In
terms of what the Policy Paper requires the Country Office (CO) to
do and attain, it has made a long stride. With a shift in its
focus to the western, mid-western and far-western region with
Kapilvastu, Banke and Doti respectively as focal districts, the CO
has now more established partners and better poverty focus.
Formulation of long-term plans for the new geographical areas is
under way. The one for the far western region is already in
effect, while those for the western region and mid-western region
are to be completed soon. The CO is now firmly standing on two
legs--capacity building and advocacy. Greater focus on poorer
people, and innovative tools for the ideas to materialize--whether
it be in budgetary, programme, information and advocacy or social
mobilization areas--have resulted in encouraging outcome. The
revised way of doing semi-annual and annual reviews has been very
inspiring. MS Nepal has made headway towards institutionalizing
monitoring and evaluation system both at CO as well as at partner
level. The idea of forming cross cutting working groups has been
very useful in terms of developing policy/plan of action regarding
the cross cutting issues through optimum utilization of available
resources. One area that the CO are still stumbling in is cultural
cooperation, though MS Nepal is somehow pioneer in terms of
cultural exchange. It enjoys much attraction also being a single
country programme in Asia. Widening of discussion on cultural
exchange is very encouraging. How to structure the ideas in this
regard is something the CO is seriously considering now. Besides
considerable focus on institutional capacity building both at
partner and beneficiary level, advocacy has received lot of
emphasis in the recently developed new partnerships. The efforts
put by the CO into advocacy, information and social mobilization
works during this reporting period have started bringing good
results.
Working with the disadvantaged and ethnic minorities like Tharus,
Limbus, and Dalit organizations has increased their visibility in
national and development fora. It has helped in giving voice to
the voiceless and encouraged them to endeavour for their own
development. For example the liberated Kamaiyas, Dalits and other
minorities have now started thinking about their future and
demanding their rights. Increasing focus on mainstreaming gender,
pluralism and educational and other needs of the disabled has
resulted in the development of action plans for implementation
hereafter.
South/South and North/South Cooperation
This
reporting period saw tremendous progress in south/south and
south/north cooperation. Despite many problems the CO handled the
Youth Cooperation Programme (YCP) quite successfully. MS Nepal
took active part in "Conflicts: new Perspectives" project as part
of global action in Denmark. As part of the programme,
representatives of partner organisations KYC and KSSC went to
Denmark availing themselves of the opportunity to share ideas and
experience regarding different kinds of conflicts and ways to
resolve them. A follow up plan is already in place. The CO is also
about to contribute to the production of an internet book on
conflict resolution, an idea generated from the Home Office level.
Likewise, two representatives from BASE participated in a
UN-sponsored seminar on contemporary forms of slavery" in Geneva,
where government delegates were also present, and raised the
crucial issues of Kamaiya at that level of international forum.
For the first time in MS Nepal's history the CO organized an
international gender workshop bringing together colleagues from
Denmark, Africa and Nepal. The PO concerned and representatives
from Denmark and Africa had also visited India for preparation of
the workshop and for networking. A colleague from TCDC, Tanzania
is coming down to Nepal in the near future to work as a short-term
DW on the development of the CO's gender policy. A PO attended the
organizational capacity building workshop and the TCDC anniversary
function at TCDC recently and the Communication Coordinator also
had an opportunity to participate in an advocacy workshop at TCDC.
Also this year, a partner representative from DCRDC attended the
3rd UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in
Brussels, Belgium. All these representatives availed themselves of
these opportunities to meet people, share ideas and establish
contacts thereby marking the beginning of networking of some sort.
A
group of 10 Nepalese young men and women representing five MS
partners recently visited various advocacy, human rights and
theatre organizations in India to explore how theatre can be
better used as a tool for bringing about a positive social change
peacefully. They got a good opportunity to establish links with
like-minded organizations there. They are also about to leave on a
study tour of Denmark in mid-January under the "village theatre"
programme supported by the Democracy Fund. The visit is expected
to help them in getting an insight into the Danish perception of
democracy, equality and right issues, and translating the new
understanding and experience into action back home.
Programme Framework
The
shift in the geographical focus of programme, division of work,
and demarcation of roles and responsibilities among the four
units, the new review and monitoring system, initiatives like the
new budget revision system, development of budget monitoring
tools, development of well defined annual plan and maximization of
resources through various new programme approaches have
significantly contributed to the strengthening of the country
programme. Development of the right kind of system, whether it be
in programme, HRD, information and advocacy or
financial/administration sections, is most crucial of all changes
the CO has seen over the past one year or so. The PAB, is likely
to come up with new good ideas. Introduction of Working Groups as
a means of refining our strategies has in general been successful.
Thanks to clearly defined geographical focus and a slight change
in partnership approach MS Nepal partners have experienced better
focus on organizational strengthening and impact monitoring during
this reporting period. To make programme and impact reviews
practical and more productive, it has been decided to do Annual
Impact Review at the end of the year (October/November) before
writing the annual report and the Annual Organizational Review in
the middle of the year (May/June) so that it provides inputs for
the half yearly report.
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