NC’s forms ‘economy-focused special committee’

The main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) today formed an ‘economy-focused special committee’ to study and analyse the impacts of Covid-19 in various sectors, and prescribe the government immediate, medium and long term solutions.
Issuing a press note today, NC informed that party president Sher Bahadur Deuba formed the committee under the coordination of the former finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat. The committee comprises former finance ministers and state ministers and vice chairs in the National Planning Commission (NPC), the press note reads, adding that the committee includes former finance ministers Mahesh Acharya, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Dr Narayan Khadka, Dr Minendra Rijal, Chinkaji Shrestha, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Bharat Shah, and Uday Shumsher Rana. “Likewise, Dr Prithivi Raj Ligal, Dr Shankar Sharma, Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokhrel, Dr Govinda Pokhrel and Dr Swarnim Wagle are also in the special committee.”
“The party will set its immediate vision and position regarding relief packages, short-term vision on the priorities of the upcoming budget and long vision on national economy post-pandemic,” the press note reads.

Lockdown to continue, essential industries to open from Friday

The government has extended the lockdown period – as recommended by the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of Covid-19 yesterday – keeping the suspension on international flights and sealing border till May end, but some essential industries will be allowed to start their operation from Friday.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers today decided to extend the term of nationwide coronavirus-lockdown till May 18, confirmed finance minister, who is also information and communication technology minster, Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada. “But some 42 industries of essential nature will be allowed to operate from Friday with adequate health precautions,” he said, adding that they have to maintain social distance, employees must use mask and sanitiser. “These industries can make one-third of their employees work at a time.”
The industries related to food and food processing, water, biscuits, tea, sugar, LP Gas, ginger, bread, confectionery, paintings, press, electricity fittings to construction related industries will be allowed to operate from Friday, Khatiwada said, adding that the party palaces, malls that do not sell food and food products, gym, temples, mosque, church, and training programmes are however not allowed to operate.
A meeting of the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of Covid-19 yesterday – in the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli – had reviewed measures taken to prevent the spread of the pandemic and the impact of the ongoing lockdown. It has concluded that the lockdown has been effective in controlling coronavirus from spreading. But the economy has been bleeding as the industries have been closed since March 24. When the government first announced the lockdown, Nepal had reported just two Covid-19 cases. But this week alone, 23 new cases have been reported, with the national tally reaching 99, though there have been no deaths so far.
With the sixth extension of lockdown from day after, Nepal will be under lockdown for almost two months until a different modality of rules and restrictions is decided upon. The country has lost around Rs 300 billion due to a lockdown in the last a-month-and-half which has halted economic activities in the country.
The committee has decided to recommend the government to further extend the lockdown, but allow some economic activities to start as the government coffer is drying due to loss of revenue, reduction of remittance inflow and plummeting export, apart from tourism that seems to take minimum half year to revive.
The length of the lockdown imposed on March 24, which saw the most recent extension on April 27, is maturing tomorrow, the committee had suggested to categorise areas as green, orange and red, but the Prime Minister was not convinced saying that it is not the right time to relax lockdown on the basis of categorisation, as Covid- 19 cases continued to rise in India and in certain districts of Nepal bordering India, and also in Nepal.
Critics say the government failed to utilise the lockdown over the last six weeks to step up measures to trace and treat and find ways to gradually lift lockdown.
The cabinet meeting also decided to tighten entry points to Kathmandu and keep records of those who need to travel for emergency situations like for health checkups, Khatiwada added.

High-level committee recommends extension of lockdown

The high-level government committee formed to prevent and contain the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has recommended the government to continue the lockdown.
A meeting of the committee held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Baluwatar today concluded that the lockdown needs to be extended as the number of Covid-19 cases are rising lately. “We have recommended the government to extend the lockdown,” confirmed secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister Narayan Prasad Bidari. “However, the cabinet meeting will take the final decision on the extension of the lockdown tomorrow," he said, adding that the time duration of the fifth extension of lockdown will be decided by the cabinet tomorrow. Bidari, who is also a member of the coronavirus prevention and control committee, said that the key to contain spread of Covid-19 is lockdown. "The meeting reviewed the measures currently being enforced to stem the coronavirus,” he added.
The nationwide lockdown was first enforced on March 24, and has been extended for the fourth time that will come to an end on Thursday.
Nepal has reported some 82 Covid-19 cases till date. Of which some 16 have returned home after treatment, according to the Health Ministry. Nepalgunj and Udayapur – where the most of the Covid-19 cases were identified – are the corona hotspot in the country.

Beverage, cigarette industries ask government to let them open business

Nepal Liquor and Cigarette Industries’ Association today urged the government to allow supplies of beverage and cigarette by easing lockdown.
Issuing a press note today, they also urged the government to allow beverage and cigarette industries and suppliers to operate at least a few hours daily. Beverage and cigarette Industries contribute more than Rs 10 billion to the national coffer annually and provide employment to more than 2 million people, the press note reads, adding that the lockdown has, however, made millions of people jobless. “It will not only hit the daily lives of beverage and cigarette suppliers but also the economy.
The association has also drawn the government’s attention towards the illegal production and distribution of liquor during the lockdown, which will not only bleed the government coffer but also create health hazards.
The government has though targeted to mobilise Rs 111.2 billion revenue in the current fiscal year, the lockdown of almost two months has hit the government target. However, the government is still optimistic of mobilising Rs 800 billion, according to the Finance Ministry.

Nepal and Green Climate Fund, FAO join hands

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) under Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) have agreed to provide financial grant assistance of $39.3 million (approximately Rs 4,688.2 million) for the implementation of Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal (BRCRN) project. The grant assistance will be mobilised through the budgetary system of the government, according to a press note issued by the Finance Minister.
The project aims to enhance the climate-resilience of ecosystems and vulnerable communities in Nepal´s Churia region through integrated Sustainable Natural Resource Management (SNRM) approaches, it reads, adding that the project will cover 26 river systems of the province No 1, 2 and Bagmati provinces and aims to benefit approximately 200,681 households. “This project will benefit to women, indigenous people, dalit and vulnerable people of that area.”
The main components of the project are scaling up climate-resilient Sustainable Natural Resource Management (SNRM), strengthening institutions and planning for climate-resilient SNRM and improving knowledge, awareness and local capacity for climate-resilient SNRM, it further reads. “The project will be implemented for a period of six-and-a-half years.”
The Ministry of Forest and Environment will be the implementing agency for this project.
This is the first time that GCF fund is being utilised by the government through its budgetary system. The agreement was signed by joint secretary at the Finance Ministry Shreekrishna Nepal on behalf of the government and representative of FAO in Nepal and Bhutan Somsak Pipoppinyo, on behalf of GCF/FAO.
The government has expressed its sincere appreciation to the GCF/FAO for this assistance and its continued support to Nepal.

French Embassy helps repatriate 390 including French nationals

The French Embassy today helped repatriate a flight -- the third one -- from Kathmandu to Paris for the French nationals, their families and other European and non-European nationals in a special flight chartered by the French Government.
According to a press note issued by the French Embassy in Kathmandu, this is the third repatriation flight and a total of 309 passengers departed in the French government chartered flight today carrying 110 French nationals and more than 190 European and other non-European nationals.
This repatriation flight played another key role: it brought 3,000 German made PCR-test kits which are part of the German support to Nepal on its fight against Covid-19, it reads. 
"The French Embassy is committed to the main mission of ensuring the welfare of its citizens abroad during hard times in close coordination with the local authorities to whom this Embassy is very grateful”, said French ambassador to Nepal François-Xavier Léger, during the repatriation process.
Earlier, many foreign diplomatic missions including the US Embassy, German Embassy, Australian Embassy have also repatriated their citizens with special flights. 

Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the need to amend transitional justice law

The decision by Nepal's Supreme Court to reject a petition by the government asking that it reviews its 2015 ruling against amnesties for grave conflict-era crimes is an important step in securing truth, justice and reparations for the thousands of victims of the country’s decade-long conflict, Amnesty International, TRIAL International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and Human Rights Watch said today.
The armed conflict between Maoist and government forces ended in 2006, but victims of serious abuses by both sides are still awaiting justice, accountability and reparations. The four organisations called upon the government to revise the 2014 Transitional Justice Act and ensure its implementation in accordance with the Supreme Court’s judgments, so as to assure access to justice for the victims of conflict-era abuses.
Nepal’s transitional justice law, which was passed by Parliament in April 2014, established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, the joint press note reads, adding that it, however, contained provisions that could allow for amnesties even for crimes such as torture, including rape and other sexual violence and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance. “On February 26, 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the amnesty provisions and ordered the act to be amended accordingly.”
However, the government immediately petitioned to overturn the ruling. That petition was rejected by the court on April 27, 2020.
“With the Supreme Court’s decision, there can be no further excuse for government backsliding on ensuring truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence,” South Asia Director at Amnesty International Biraj Patnaik said, adding that the government should immediately amend the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014 in line with the Supreme Court’s orders and its own international obligations.
With its latest ruling the Supreme Court has upheld the principle that there can be no amnesties for those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law and human rights violations. More than 13 years since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of November 2006 promised justice to the victims, no one has been held accountable for any conflict-era crimes.
“The request filed by the Nepal government to review the decision of the Supreme Court was another attempt to evade the real issue: accountability for mass human rights violations,” the head of Nepal Programme at TRIAL International Cristina Cariello said, adding that they were delighted that the Supreme Court held its ground and reaffirmed the importance of fair and efficient transitional justice mechanisms.
Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International have repeatedly expressed concerns about the faltering transitional justice process. Besides the failure to amend the law to uphold basic principles of justice, there have been long delays and repeated political interference in appointments to the two transitional justice commissions.
“Over the past decade, the Supreme Court of Nepal has produced some of the most human rights compliant jurisprudence in South Asia,” ICJ Asia Pacific director Frederick Rawski  said, adding that the petition cynically sought to have the Court undermine its own judgement, so that the government could sidestep its responsibility to provide accountability for conflict-related human rights violations. “The government has no excuse for not immediately amending the transitional justice legal framework so that it is consistent with the Court’s jurisprudence and Nepal’s international legal obligations.”
An effective transitional justice system requires strong legal foundations consistent with international law and standards, and the political will to address the demands of victims of the conflict, the organisations said.
“When Nepal stood for election to the United Nations Human Rights Council the government promised to uphold its human rights obligations, but 3 years later, as it seeks re-election, there has been nothing but impunity and evasion on transitional justice,” South Asia director at Human Rights Watch Meenakshi Ganguly said, adding that these are crimes under international law, subject to universal jurisdiction, and if justice is denied at home victims may take their cases abroad.