Interaction program on the issue of religious minorities was completed with various stakeholders in Bagmati Province. Faith leaders from various religions were also present. They discussed the situation of minorities, policies to be adopted by the nation and the next working direction.

The chairperson of the organization, Ram Bhakta Kurumwang, said that the mission of the program is to identify if there is legal discrimination in the Nepali faith communities by the government bodies, then criticize it in a healthy manner and study such weaknesses to build a peaceful society with harmony, religiousness, coexistence, cooperation, and coexistence to run a campaign.

Similarly, he discussed the problems arising from religion and inter-religion issues where there is disagreement, differences between state policies and parties. He said that the program was organized in order to address those issues in a peaceful, scientific manner and manage joyful harmony for everyone in a kind of understanding.

Likewise, Mr. Murari Prasad Kharel, acting secretary of the National Human Rights Commission stated that the commission has continuously attended and given feedback on various programs of IPFN. He also mentioned that the commission has evidently committed that they will provide support and advice on various issues of Interfaith peace and harmony.

The program was facilitated by Advocator Mr. Shankar Limbu where he asserted that if we look at the past history of the state’s view of religious minorities, there are many places that raise questions, but in recent times, they have realized that they are on the right path. He mentioned that the state should play an effective role in implementing what is written in the constitution and the person who is sitting to run the state should act accordingly.

Facilitator`s Introduction:

Name: Shankar Limbu

Position: Human rights lawyer

Secretary: Lawyers’ Association Human Rights for Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP)

Advocate: Community Law Firm (CLF), Study and Research Dabu

Academic and Educational qualification: LL.M. in Human Rights and Gender justice, Master Degree in Political Science, Fellow of International Labour Organization, Geneva in 2004, PILnet Fellow in 2014, Visiting Scholar in the Columbia University in 2014, Executive Member of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact Foundation (AIPP) Thailand. Former Board of Trustee of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Contribution

As a human rights lawyers, he has been consistently working to protect, promote and defend Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities since 2000, including minority and marginalized community in Nepal. LAHURNIP provides free legal service against cases of collective human rights violation. He had prepared and pleaded in several Court cases and the Supreme Court of Nepal made land-mark decisions respectively: direct and meaningful representation, protection against mass-forced eviction, protection of property rights, right to housing, cultural autonomy etc.

He had involved to bring complaints to Independent Accountability Mechanisms on behalf of affected communities against aggressive development funded by international financial Institutions to protect right to lands, cultures, identity, suppression etc. Complaints also launched in International Human Rights Institution in the case of non-compliance of International Human Rights such is ICCPR, ICESRC, CERD, ILO C.169, UNDRIP etc. As a capacity of lawyers and being an Indigenous person, he had dealt these cases on pro bono basis.

He had contributed academically, doing studies and researches in human rights fields. Contributed to legal drafting in various subjects, etc.