10 July 2022, Kathmandu
Indigenous Newar communities – affected by the Kathmandu-Terai/Madhesh Fast Track (Expressway) Project and other ongoing or planned infrastructure and urbanization projects in historical settlements of Khokana and Bungamati in the south of Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu – have called on four UN mechanisms in Geneva to take follow up actions for safeguarding their rights against the continued serious threats of displacement of the communities, violations of their land and resource rights as well as cultural rights and other impacts on them due to the ill-planned projects.
In separate letters emailed today to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples, on the right to adequate housing and on the situation of human rights defenders as well as the Working Group on business and human rights, two local groups (Janasarokar Samiti of Khokana and Bungamati) representing the affected communities have urged the UN mechanisms to jointly examine the information submitted and undertake follow up correspondence with the Government of Nepal to protect and promote the rights of the indigenous communities in the context of those projects. As stated in the letters, besides the Fast Track Expressway, other ongoing or planned projects, including Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project (Bagmati Corridor), Kathmandu Outer Ring Road and Thankot-Bhaktapur Transmission Line Project and one of the four “Smart Cities” proposed in Kathmandu valley, will entirely displace the indigenous communities from the historical settlements. Asian Development Bank has directly or indirectly supported many of those projects.
more “Indigenous Newar communities in Khokana and Bungamati call for follow-up actions from UN experts in Geneva to protect their rights threatened by the construction of Fast Track Expressway and other infrastructure projects”