ICC Note: According to the European Union (EU), Christians are not being fairly represented in Nepal’s parliament. This lack of representation has led Christians being discriminated against by many government policies, including an anti-conversion passed last August. So far, Nepal has reacted negatively to this criticism by the EU.

05/02/2018 Nepal (UCAN) – Nepal’s government is still up in arms over claims by the European Union that Christians are not being fairly represented in parliament, while sensitive issues such as the eating of beef or the rights of Hindus and minority groups get much greater consideration.

On March 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) drew attention to the conclusions and recommendations in the final report on the House of Representatives and provincial assembly elections by the European Union’s Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) to Nepal, which was released in February.

The EUEOM raised the point that Christians were not represented in the election, which operates on a proportional representation system, despite comprising 1.4 percent of the population.

This would seem to indicate that Nepal’s electoral system is not fully inclusive, as has been claimed. In fact, the charter sets out no provision for religious inclusion apart from guaranteeing this for Muslims. Instead, inclusion is worked out on the basis of people’s caste or ethnicity.

I would say the Christian population is not even acknowledged as a minority group in Nepal, where Christianity is viewed as a foreign entity — a so-called dollar-based religion. Many Nepalese believe it “belongs” to Caucasians in Western countries and should stay there.

However, the marginalization of Christians and Christianity can be seen as a direct criticism of the Khas-Arya, the dominant political group in Nepal, as the report also pointed out that the elections are subject to a quota system which applies not only to this group but also to people from communities and regions considered “backward.”

The Khas-Arya have long dominated Nepali politics. As such they enjoy more decision-making power than other social groups. Furthermore, Article 42 of the constitution grants them the right to participate in state bodies based on the principle of inclusivity.

Yet lawmakers have failed to clarify why they have been granted such a “favorable” quota given that they already wield significant clout as the de facto ruling class. The principle of inclusivity is supposed to lead to equality rather than institutionalize inequality.

Article 18 covers the right to equality and includes a provision of affirmative action for poor and marginalized groups, including indigent members of the Khas Arya who have fallen on hard times.

As long as they remain in power, however, the quota system enhances the participation of this elite social group within the legislature, increasing their dominance rather than helping ethnic communities with significantly less influence.

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