At an interaction organized at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday, the rights defenders expressed concern that Nepal, despite ratifying the ICESCR in 1991, has not ratified its optional protocol.[break]
They further said as these rights were not implemented, there was no national mechanism to hear cases of violation of the rights relating to this covenant.
Once the protocol is ratified and implemented, the citizens without access to justice would be able to enjoy their socio-economic and cultural rights and fight poverty.
Speaking at the program, NHRC Chairman Kedarnath Upadhyay said the state was working in a snail pace to promote human rights issues.
Although the NHRC had to be engaged in protection of conflict victims and establishing political rights for long, it would widen its scope thereby heeding further additional rights of the citizens, he added.
Chairman of the Forum for Human Rights and Democracy, Nootan Thapaliya accused the administration of not becoming accountable and the political parties of lacking the will power to establish socio-economic and cultural rights of the citizens.
The programme was organized by various 21 organizations working in the human rights sector. Officer at the NHRC Tej Man Shrestha and General Secretary of the Forum Raj Kumar Siwakoti presented different working papers on socio-economic and cultural rights.
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