Kathmandu : The Amnesty International (AI) has today released a new report entitled “‘Nowhere to go’: Forced evictions in Nepal”.
This report presents the findings of AI’s research into forced evictions in Nepal, focusing on five evictions that took place between 2020 and 2024.
The report highlights the ‘devastating impact’ on already marginalized communities, including Dalits and Indigenous Peoples, which are disproportionately affected by the forced evictions, the AI said in a press release.
It also reveals what it called the authorities’ failure to uphold legal safeguards and address gaps in regulations needed to implement provisions in the Constitution and the 2018 Right to Housing Act that are aimed at preventing forced eviction.
“There is an ever-widening gap between the legal protections promised in Nepal’s constitution and the reality for marginalized communities in the country, who continue to live in fear of being evicted with no due process, no regard for their precarious circumstances and no hope of compensation to help rebuild their lives elsewhere,” said Nirajan Thapaliya, Director at Amnesty International Nepal.
“The authorities are failing in their legal duty to protect the rights of the landless, some of the most vulnerable in society.”
The report focuses on emblematic cases of forced evictions between 2020 and 2024 that took place across Nepal including in Kathmandu, Siraha, Sunsari, Jhapa and Kailali districts.
Together they represent diverse regions and types of eviction. In some cases, evictions took place as a result of development projects in urban settings, in others forced evictions were carried out in conservation areas in community forests and national parks, the report points out.
Other government failures include the failure to uphold specific protections for groups vulnerable to discrimination and marginalization, such as older people, children and persons with disabilities. In addition, authorities failed to follow procedures stipulated by the Lands Act relating to the identification and verification of landless Dalits and residents of informal settlements.
Moreover, authorities also failed to engage the affected communities in a process of genuine consultations prior to the evictions and provide them with adequate notice, requirements set forth both in Nepal’s Right to Housing Act and international human rights standards.
“The Nepali authorities must safeguard the right to adequate housing, end the practice of forced eviction and ensure due process when evictions are deemed necessary. Without urgent and coordinated action to implement the right to adequate housing and establish regulatory frameworks, the cycle of forced evictions and human rights violations in Nepal will persist,” said Nirajan Thapaliya.
The research draws on field investigations conducted during two research trips to Kailali, Siraha, Sunsari and Jhapa districts in 2024, alongside sustained documentation and advocacy efforts by AI Nepal through its partner civil society organisations, the Amnesty International stated.
The five eviction cases documented in the research are: Kusum Khola, Madi Municipality of Chitwan district (18 July 2020); Chaukidanda, Ghodaghodi Municipality, Kailali district (1 May 2021); Thapathali, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Kathmandu district (28 November 2022); Purano Airport Area, Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City, Kailali district (23June 2024); and Bhajani, Bhajani Municipality, Kailali district (25 June 2024).
The research featured 16 focus group discussions and 15 individual interviews, including interviews with officials from federal authorities such as the Land Issue Resolving Commission and the National Human Rights Commission, as well as provincial and local authorities.
The report also incorporates recommendations to the Government of Nepal, to the federal, provincial and local government, to the national human rights institutions, to the parliamentary committees and to the judiciary.(RSS)