Nepal has been making a steady transition towards federalism after elections in 2017–18 for local, provincial and federal-level governments. This is a positive step, as the country looks to consolidate its relative peace and stability after nearly two decades of political conflict. However, the high expectations for delivery and the lack of understanding among citizens and newly elected representatives may pose problems. If the population becomes quickly frustrated, the country could slip back into instability and violence.
In Nepal, we worked to support federalism by partnering with civil society organisations and government officials to engage more communities and marginalised people in governance processes. We formed 16 community groups that have been working with their local governments to push for more involvement in decision-making and to identify and resolve community-level conflict. We also established a policy group, composed of parliamentarians and civil society experts at the provincial level, to encourage interaction and address issues of marginalisation.
We published four ‘early warning, early response’ reports that analysed causes of conflict and mapped trends of violence to help prepare responses. In addition, we designed a resource pack to aid people’s understanding of the new federal system, rolling it out to 429 community members. We organised workshops on conflict and gender sensitivity for 121 civil society and community members, and we engaged with 262 elected representatives around supporting federalism.
