The Constitution of Nepal has provisions for special, protected and autonomous regions for Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum welcomes further progress towards realizing the provisions of the Constitution, including by considering the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to Nepal in 2018 on respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their traditional lands and resources and to self-determination.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States include ethnic identification in vital statistics and health records, allocate more funding for intercultural services that ensure indigenous women’s access to quality health care, including emergency obstetric care, voluntary family planning and skilled attendants at delivery, and that the role of traditional midwives be strengthened and extended.