National Human Rights Commission's Strategic Plan Support Project (SPSP)

Summary

SPSP aims to strengthen the capacity of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to effectively fulfill its mandate to protect and promote human rights in Nepal, ensure the country’s compliance with international human rights treaties and carry out the tasks set out in its the Strategic Plan.

Background

National Human Rights Commission’s Strategic Plan Support Project (SPSP) envisages to significantly contribute towards the institution’s long-term sustainability and its capability to build on the work to further strengthen the capacity of NHRC to protect and promote human rights. The project aims to develop human rights culture in Nepal and enable people, especially minorities, women, and disadvantaged groups, to enjoy their rights, protected by rule of law.

The interventions aim to ensure that the rights of the deprived, marginalized and backward communities are promoted, and key stakeholders incorporate human rights into their day-to-day work and the NHRC itself is better networked, known, and respected by the public. With these interventions, the power and force of the NHRC will be significantly strengthened, which in the longer run will influence in organizational and management capacity of the NHRC where the NHRC can assume its full financial and organizational autonomy and influence the change in behavior of the Government, civil servants, armed forces, civil society and international community.

Aiming to further strengthen the core capacity of the NHRC to deliver on the overall vision in its 2015-2020 Strategic Plan to create a human rights culture in Nepal, where discrimination and human rights violations are not only illegal, but also unacceptable in everyday life, summed up in the motto: “Human Rights in Every Household a base of Peace and Development”, the prime focus of the SPSP is to support to the NHRC on:

• Capacity-building on monitoring, investigations and reporting
• Establish the NHRC as the main go-to body for new local and provincial entities through regular interaction and outreach
• Ensure the rights of poor and vulnerable persons and communities are effectively promoted and human rights become mainstreamed into key stakeholders’ education curricula
• Ensure the NHRC becomes a more effective and better networked institution (at national, sub-national and international level) including the development of institutionalised cooperation with the other commissions with tasks concerning human rights, non-discrimination and equality

With these interventions, the power and force of the NHRC will be significantly developed, which in the longer run will influence the behavior of the Government, civil servants, armed forces, civil society and international community.

What have we accomplished so far?

• Created in-house team of "change makers"/peer support group of trainers at NHRC, designed comprehensive training modules and trained a total of 118 staff (67 Male, 51 Female) through basic, intermediate, advanced and master level trainings based on an analysis of available and required competencies for effective functioning of the NHRC.
• Conducted a review of the domestic legislations related to persons with disabilities, tabulated bills on the six new constitutional commissions, and fundamental rights, laws related to crisis and disaster from social security and human rights perspective and submitted key recommendations to the Government of Nepal. Maximized the NHRC's advocacy outreach on mental health and human rights issues and helped to protect the human rights of mentally disabled people through a series of policy dialogues and advocacy in collaboration with civil society organizations
• Conducted gender equality assessment at NHRC collating feedback from 250 NHRC staff and developed institutional gender policies at NHRC.
• Conducted international conference on Identifying Challenges, Assessing Progress, Moving Forward: Addressing Impunity and Realizing Human Rights in South Asia in Kathmandu bringing together NHRI’s, government bodies, civil society members, lawyers and human rights activists of 22 countries that subtly drew the attention to the need for states to ensure that National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are given adequate resources and capacity to function independently and effectively in full conformity with the Paris Principles, and also released 29-point Kathmandu Declaration 2018.     
• Developed a handbook on human rights to deliver training to Judicial Committee Members and trained 260 Judicial Committee Members from four provinces and incorporated human rights-based approach and justice system while mediating local dispute.
•  A perception survey on public relations and confidence in the NHRC provided the NHRC an opportunity to assess its position among a wide range of people and develop a concrete outreach strategy, especially to protect the rights of marginalized groups and also a study on NHRC in the federal context conducted.
• Spread awareness on human rights issues among people living with disability and/or mental illness through trainings and workshops and expanded outreach of NHRC into 48 districts to raise these issues Produced tele serials and human rights film festival supported to create awareness on human rights issues
• A baseline survey on human rights situation of persons with mental disability conducted that set a baseline for promoting and protecting their human rights in Nepal in terms of their rights to respect, right to fulfill their basic needs and right to live a dignified life.
• Disseminated, published PSA/IEC and supported human rights education targeted at the public, CSOs and the media.
• Supported NHRC to conduct International Conference on Protection of rights of the Migrant Workers in 2019. It brought the issues of rights of migrant workers in forefront adopting a 21-point Kathmandu Declaration on protection of the rights of the migrant workers and streamlining 10-point plan of action to achievements.
• Trained 148 journalists and media persons on human rights educating them on human rights reporting that extended a better understanding on human rights-based approach in media.
• Substantively digitalized NHRC's paper-based approach in complaint handling with digital technology by developing NHRC's mobile app and setting up a video conferencing system at its central, provincial and branch offices.
• Supported NHRC's strong collaboration and coordination and promoted its work with stakeholders, human rights academician, human rights defenders, parliamentarians, and international NHRIs through development and dissemination of 25 of human rights promotional materials, human situation report, and training manual to media persons and journalists.
•  Excelled NHRC's outreach in raising public awareness, human rights monitoring, and reporting during the COVID pandemic to ensure the continued protection of human rights through which NHRC was able to reach out to 150,000 people.

Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

• Reviewed issues of non-discrimination and diversity in the NHRC and recommended measures to ensure inclusion and representation in staffing and management.
• Placed diversity policy to ensure gender and ethnicity balance in its activities.
• Placed Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy (GESI) at NHRC and GESI Code of Conduct at NHRC rolled out.
• Trained the NHRC Officials in GESI grievances handling mechanism and tools.
• Special attention has been given to the regional offices of the NHRC to ensure that they are adequately staffed following the principles of workforce diversity and are strengthened in their capacity to fulfill the mandate of the NHRC in the field.

Documents

  SPSP Factsheet 2021

  Project Document