KATHMANDU, March 22: The international community has urged Nepal to reform laws ranging from abortion to child marriage and to strengthen implementation of its human rights commitments under the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The call comes as Nepal reviews key recommendations received during the fourth cycle of the UPR, with a focus on legal identity, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) organised a two-day workshop for journalists in Kathmandu on Friday and Saturday to raise awareness about the UPR process, its national significance, and the recommendations put forward to Nepal.
Nepal submitted its national report under the fourth UPR cycle in 2025, following which multiple countries issued recommendations. Advocate Binu Lama said Nepal has two options regarding these recommendations: to accept or to note them.
Making abortion socially acceptable
According to FWLD advocate Rojina Shrestha, key recommendations include decriminalising abortion, ensuring reproductive health rights, promoting respectful maternity care, and expanding comprehensive sexuality education.
Countries including Iceland and France have called for the decriminalisation of abortion under all circumstances, while Iceland also stressed ensuring access to safe abortion services. Norway urged Nepal to guarantee safe abortion access for women, adolescents, and gender minorities.
Senior advocate Meera Dhungana said several countries also highlighted the need to ensure universal access to comprehensive sexuality education both within and outside schools, strengthen multi-sectoral coordination to prevent teenage pregnancy and child marriage, and effectively implement Nepal’s National Strategy against Sex-Selective Abortion (2021).
Recommendations also called for banning harmful practices such as chhaupadi and dowry, strengthening law enforcement, raising public awareness, and ensuring prosecution of offenders. Mexico further suggested decriminalising consensual sexual relations among minors under 18 and adopting stronger measures to prevent adolescent pregnancy and child marriage.
The workshop also discussed Nepal’s next steps as the government prepares to present its final response to the UPR recommendations ahead of the June/July 2026 session. Participants underscored the media’s role in fostering informed public debate and ensuring accountability in the process.
Speaking at the event, FWLD Information Officer Binod Chandra Devkota said Nepal often commits to international treaties and accepts human rights recommendations but falls short in implementation.
“There has been a long-standing gap in inter-ministerial and national-level discussions,” he said, adding that weak coordination continues to hinder effective implementation.
He said the initiative aims to push government bodies and stakeholders to ensure the recommendations are translated into action.
