The world celebrated Human Rights Day on December 10, 2024, marking the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This year’s slogan, “Our rights, our future, right now,” highlighted the universal and immediate relevance of human rights in addressing global and local challenges. For Nepal, this day carried particular significance as it coincided with the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign, which spotlighted the urgency of addressing systemic violence and exploitation.
Nepal’s human rights landscape is complex, shaped by intersecting challenges of modern slavery, gender-based violence, and digital exploitation, all of which disproportionately affect marginalized groups.
While the country has established robust legal frameworks and institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRCN), barriers such as weak enforcement, cultural resistance, and systemic inequality continue to undermine progress. Understanding these dynamics is critical to advancing human rights in Nepal, ensuring that legal and institutional commitments translate into tangible outcomes for the most vulnerable.
Modern Slavery: A Persistent Global and Local Issue
Modern slavery remains one of the gravest human rights violations, affecting more than 50 million people globally, including 28 million in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriages. Women and girls constitute 70% of victims, enduring forced sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and labor in exploitative industries.
Asia is home to over 30 million enslaved individuals, with South Asia accounting for approximately 16 million victims. In Nepal, where over 35,000 women and girls are trafficked annually, the problem is exacerbated by economic disparities, systemic poverty, and harmful cultural practices. Many of these victims are lured into Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where they face exploitative conditions under the kafala system, which ties workers to their employers and strips them of freedom and rights.
Despite constitutional protections, such as those enshrined in the 2015 Constitution, and anti-trafficking laws, Nepal struggles to enforce these safeguards effectively. Gaps in implementation allow traffickers to exploit vulnerable populations with impunity, perpetuating cycles of exploitation. Institutions like the NHRCN play an important role in addressing these issues, investigating human rights violations, and recommending legal or departmental action against perpetrators. However, the NHRCN’s inability to compel the government to act on its recommendations often limits its effectiveness, leaving critical human rights violations unaddressed.
The awakening of LGBTIs
Digital Exploitation: The Role of Social Media in Trafficking
Social media platforms have become powerful tools for traffickers, enabling them to recruit, deceive, and control victims with unprecedented efficiency. Platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp among others are used to lure victims under the guise of legitimate job opportunities or relationships. Once recruited, victims are often isolated and monitored using encrypted communication platforms, making intervention difficult.
In a prominent 2021 case, traffickers used TikTok to lure Bangladeshi women into India with promises of employment, only to force them into sexual exploitation. Investigations into GCC countries revealed that traffickers exploited Instagram’s algorithm to promote hashtags advertising domestic workers, normalizing the commodification of human labor.
Nepal is no stranger to these patterns. Social media is frequently used to target young women from rural areas, offering false promises of better lives abroad. In response, the Government of Nepal introduced the 2023 Directives for Managing Social Networks, under the Electronic Transaction Act (2008), to hold platforms accountable for misuse. While these directives are a step forward, they are limited in scope and cannot address the systemic vulnerabilities that traffickers exploit.
Gender-Based Violence and Inequality
Modern slavery in Nepal is closely tied to gender-based violence (GBV) and deeply entrenched inequalities. Practices such as Chhaupadi (the isolation of menstruating women), dowry violence, and child marriage persist, despite legal prohibitions. These practices disproportionately affect women, Dalits, and LGBTQIA+ individuals, leaving them economically dependent and vulnerable to exploitation.
During the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV, activists highlighted how these cultural norms perpetuate cycles of abuse and exploitation. For example, Chhaupadi forces women into unhygienic and unsafe conditions, increasing their vulnerability to violence and trafficking. Similarly, dowry practices fuel economic exclusion and domestic abuse, while early marriage deprives girls of education and opportunities, pushing them into exploitative labor markets.
The NHRCN has sought to address these challenges through awareness campaigns, community outreach, and collaboration with civil society organizations. Its motto, “Human rights for all, at every household: basis of peace and development,” reflects its commitment to fostering a culture of human rights at all levels of society. However, without enforcement powers or the government’s commitment to implementing its recommendations, these efforts often fail to bring systemic change.
Challenges to Human Rights Implementation: A Global Perspective
Nepal’s human rights struggles reflect broader global challenges. The international human rights system is vast, comprising numerous UN instruments, special mechanisms, committees, and evaluation processes. While these frameworks aim to protect and promote rights, their sheer volume creates barriers to understanding and implementation. It is difficult to count the number of instruments or mechanisms, let alone expect the general public to navigate them. Even experts struggle to maintain specialized knowledge of this complex system.
This overabundance has led to a supply-side focus—creating norms, processes, and structures—without adequate attention to the demand side, such as public accessibility and practical implementation. For ordinary people, understanding what constitutes human rights or how to seek remedies remains a significant challenge. In Nepal, this disconnect is evident in the gap between legal frameworks and their enforcement, which leaves marginalized communities without effective protection.
The NHRCN: A Toothless Tiger or a Vital Institution?
Established in 2000 and elevated to a constitutional body in 2007, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRCN) is tasked with ensuring the respect, promotion, and protection of human rights. The NHRCN adheres to the Paris Principles, which guarantee its independence and broad mandate. It has the authority to investigate violations, recommend reforms to constitutional safeguards, and propose legal or departmental action against perpetrators.
Despite these powers, the NHRCN’s non-binding recommendations often fail to drive government action. Critics argue that this limitation reduces the NHRCN to a symbolic entity, unable to deliver substantive change. However, its role in raising awareness, fostering collaboration with civil society, and monitoring human rights violations remains indispensable. Strengthening its enforcement powers could transform it into an effective agent of accountability and reform.
Reflections on Human Rights Day 2024
The theme “Our rights, our future, right now” reminds us that human rights must be actionable, relevant, and accessible. For Nepal, the fight against modern slavery, GBV, and digital exploitation requires bold reforms and sustained efforts. Institutions like the NHRCN must be empowered with enforcement capabilities to ensure that their recommendations lead to meaningful change.
Public awareness campaigns must bridge the gap between legal frameworks and everyday realities, enabling marginalized communities to understand and assert their rights. Legislative reforms targeting harmful practices like Chhaupadi and dowry violence must be matched by strong enforcement mechanisms. Additionally, collaboration with social media platforms is essential to prevent digital exploitation, while international partnerships must address the transnational nature of trafficking.
As Nepal reflects on its human rights journey, it must prioritize practical solutions that empower vulnerable populations and ensure justice for all. Human Rights Day 2024 is not just a commemoration; it is a call to action—a reminder that the principles of dignity, equality, and freedom must be upheld in every household and community.
By addressing systemic inequalities and strengthening its institutions, Nepal can transform its human rights commitments into realities, building a future where rights are not just aspirations but lived experiences for all.
_20221219135433.jpg)
