Human Security in Nepal: Concepts, Issues and Challenges
Publisher: Nepal Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS) and South Asia Regional Coordination Office of NCCR (North-South).
Author(s): Bishnu Raj Upreti, Rajan Bhattara and Geja Sharma Wagle
Date: 2013
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Renewable Resources
Countries: Nepal
Nepal is undergoing through a painful process of transition. TheComprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) (2006), which is the foundation of the Interim Constitution (2007), dissolved Constituent Assembly and thegovernment, has envisioned the fundamental restructuring of the statethat include state’s vital institutions like judiciary, legislative and executive(including security and bureaucracy). In this context, intense discussionsand debate are going on about the concepts, procedures, applications andlimitations of the restructuring of the state institutions. Security is one of such which is sensitive in nature, kept close for long (to discuss securityissues by non-security persons was viewed as encroachment and threatto the security itself), less availability of the expertise and low interests of people (because of self censorship or practiced as risk aversion strategy).The debate on the security sector was opened only after the signing of theCPA but again it was limited to small circle of people, mainly with ex-officialsof security forces and bureaucrats and they too were concentrated intraditional security issues (focusing on military and state not the people).In Nepal, the security policy has basically been guided by ad hoc and non-tranparent policies and programmes. The National Security Council underthe Ministry of Defense has never been institutionalized and supportedto engage in organized study, planning, policy development or execution.These facts are compounded by limited awareness of security policy,strategy and security sector governance issues in the country includingamong the governing elites. Lack of knowledge and lucid analysis prevails,with little understanding of newer ideas in security studies.