<<previous  | index  |  next>>

II. RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Government of Nepal

• Amend provisions in Nepalese law that hinder justice in gender-based violence cases.

• Reform the Country Code to substantially lengthen the thirty-five-day statute of limitations for reporting rape and other sexual offenses.
• Change the definition of rape in the Country Code to be gender-neutral, and to include any physical invasion of a sexual nature without consent or under coercive circumstances.
• Enact the Domestic Violence (Crime and Punishment) Bill, 2002. Incorporate proposed amendments from advocacy groups that improve women’s protection from domestic violence.
• Strengthen sexual assault legislation and include specific measures to protect child survivors of sexual assault and abuse.
• Simplify procedures for obtaining a legally admissible medical report for rape cases by eliminating the need for a requisition letter from the police, reducing the number of doctors required, and admitting medical reports from private hospitals that meet acceptable standards.

• Reform Nepalese laws that discriminate against women.

• Change nationality laws so that Nepalese women can pass their nationality on to their children.
• Enact reforms to the marriage laws that will ensure women’s rights and equality with respect to entrance into marriage, during marriage, and at its dissolution, and with respect to polygamy.
• Amend custody laws so women who marry a second time are allowed to retain custody of their children.

• Eliminate gender discrimination in the refugee camp registration and ration-distribution system.

• Provide registration documents to all refugees on an individual basis.
• Ensure that women who have separated from their husbands, or who are in abusive relationships, can request and obtain separate ration cards.
• Reform the household card system by listing both male and female household heads. Issue female-headed households their own ration cards.

• Issue birth certificates to all refugee children in coordination with UNHCR.
• Improve prevention and response to gender-based violence in the camps by revising the Bhutanese refugee camp rules and by posting more female police officers in the camps and state hospitals.
• Empower women and children’s organizations in the camps by allowing them to register with the government of Nepal, thus allowing them to apply independently for outside funding.
• Implement a fair and timely verification and repatriation process to Bhutan.

• Ensure women’s participation in the verification and categorization process. Include women interviewers on the Joint Verification Team.
• Invite UNHCR to help facilitate and monitor the verification and repatriation process.
• Create a fair and independent appeal process with sufficient time for refugees to present their appeal to an impartial third party.
• Announce and implement a timeline for the categorization and repatriation of the six camps yet to be verified.

• Ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and other major human rights treaties.

To the Government of Bhutan

• Amend the citizenship laws so that women, men, and children are protected from arbitrary denationalization and statelessness.
• Protect women and children’s rights during the repatriation and reintegration process as outlined in the Agenda for Protection, adopted by UNHCR and states at the Global Consultations on International Protection in 2002.
• Grant all returning refugees full citizenship and facilitate their return to their original homes.
• Implement a fair and timely verification and repatriation process.

• Ensure women’s participation in the verification and categorization process. Include women interviewers on the Joint Verification Team.
• Invite UNHCR to help facilitate and monitor the verification and repatriation process, including by allowing UNHCR to establish a presence in Bhutan.
• Create a fair and independent appeal process with sufficient time for refugees to present their appeal to an impartial third party.
• Announce and implement a timeline for the categorization and repatriation of the six camps yet to be verified.

• Ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and other major human rights treaties.

To the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

• Implement fully existing guidelines on the protection of refugee women and children, including the Agenda for Protection, adopted by UNHCR and states at the Global Consultations on International Protection in 2002.
• Establish psycho-social services in each camp with trained service-providers who can provide regular and skilled counseling to victims of gender-based violence, and who can conduct trainings for refugees, camp leadership, RCU officials, the police, and implementing partners.
• Continue to implement awareness and training programs about prevention and response to gender-based violence for refugees, the government of Nepal, and aid agencies.

• Ensure that trainings and response efforts address all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination, including rape, domestic violence, trafficking, child marriage, forced marriage, and polygyny.
• Implement specialized gender-training programs to enhance the knowledge and attitudes of Refugee Coordination Unit (RCU) administrators, police, and senior management of the aid agencies.
• Train camp management committee members and women’s focal points to handle better and appropriately refer gender-based violence cases. Training should include counseling techniques and UNHCR should provide ongoing support and supervision.

• Take a proactive approach to improving monitoring, reporting, and referral systems for gender-based violence and child abuse.

• Ensure that all gender-based violence cases, including domestic violence, are brought to the attention of UNHCR, addressed appropriately, and followed up by UNHCR.
• Identify and assist victims of gender-based violence or child abuse who may be unable to come forward on their own on a periodic and timely basis.
• Monitor for cases of suspected kidnapping or trafficking.

• Cooperate with United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to advocate for legislative changes in Nepal to protect women and children’s rights.
• Empower women and children’s organizations in the camps.

• Provide greater autonomy, training, and resources to the Bhutanese Refugee Women’s Forum so that it can more effectively work on awareness-raising, outreach, and empowerment of women.
• Support the Children’s Forum to conduct outreach to children and establish more regular communication with the camp leadership in order to identify and monitor children at risk.

• Establish a confidential environment for gender-based violence victims to seek assistance by providing separate offices for women’s focal points and by conducting information campaigns to sensitize the refugee community, Nepalese government, and Nepalese press about the importance of keeping identifying information about victims confidential.
• Promote transparency and accountability by providing public information on follow-up actions taken against international staff removed from their positions in Nepal in 2002.
• Eliminate gender discrimination in the refugee camp registration and ration-distribution system.

• Provide registration documents to all refugees on an individual basis.
• Ensure that women in abusive relationships can request and obtain separate ration cards.
• Reform the household card system by listing both male and female household heads. Issue female-headed households separate ration cards.

• Urge the government of Nepal to issue birth certificates to all refugee children.
• Continue to press the government of Bhutan to permit UNHCR to establish a presence in Bhutan to facilitate and monitor repatriation.

To Humanitarian Aid Agencies

• Ensure that protection of refugees is an element of all programs in the camps.

• Improve the training and gender-sensitization of aid workers, including senior management and refugee aid workers, and ensure they understand, uphold, and promote the IASC core principles for protecting refugees from sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Report cases of gender-based violence through the appropriate referral mechanisms and support the ability of refugees to identify and address these problems.
• Take immediate disciplinary action against aid workers, including refugee aid workers, who have committed gender-based violence.

• Amend existing provisions in the refugee camp school guidelines so that students cannot be expelled for relationships with their teachers.
• Recruit and retain more female aid workers. Prioritize increasing the number of female teachers working at the high-school level.
• Ensure that medical protocols for gender-based violence are accessible and confidential.
• Cooperate with United Nations agencies and NGOs to advocate for legislative changes in Nepal to protect women and children’s rights.

To the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

• Cooperate with UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies to ensure protection of refugee children from gender-based violence and child abuse. Provide support for teacher training programs and the Children’s Forum.
• Insist that the government of Nepal issue birth certificates to refugee children and register as refugees those children with a refugee mother and non-refugee father.
• Promote the rights of refugee children at all stages of the verification, categorization, and repatriation process, especially children at risk of separation from their families or statelessness.
• Cooperate with United Nations agencies and NGOs to advocate for legislative changes in Nepal to protect women and children’s rights.

To International Donors

• Continue to provide designated financial and logistical support to UNHCR and refugee host governments to improve programs designed to protect refugee women and children from gender-based violence and discrimination.
• Insist upon and provide financial assistance for issuing individual registration documents to all refugees.
• Continue to provide financial and logistical support to refugees trapped in protracted refugee situations.
• Strongly pressure Bhutan and Nepal to implement a fair and timely verification, categorization, and repatriation process that adheres to international standards and protects women and children’s rights.
• Emphasize to Bhutan and Nepal the importance of including UNHCR in the verification, categorization, and repatriation process.