The election of a 601-seat Constituent Assembly in Nepal has been touted as the cornerstone of a 2006 peace deal struck with former rebels, known as the Maoists, following weeks of unrest that forced Nepal's king to cede power. The voting system of the Constiuent Assembly is complex; a mix of direct elections and a nationwide proportional representation system with quotas for women and Nepal's many ethnic and caste groups.

The newly elected Constituent Assemby will be writing the country's new constitution; a constitution that will ensure the equal rights of all citizens of Nepal, including the diverse indigenous peoples making up more than 50% of the total population.

Read more:
   BBC's story: Final results declared in Nepal (web link) 
   The Indigenous World 2007 - chapter on Nepal (pdf, 196 KB, 8 pages)
   BBC's story (weblink)
   Nepal Election Portal (weblink)
   Election Commission of Nepal (weblink) 

Current electoral rolls in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) include non-permanent Bengali residents, such as Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Rifle Division personnel stationed in the region, settlers and seasonal workers, along with more 300,000 Rohinga refugees from Burma. The votes of over 100,000 troops would have a significant impact on the results of an election and the ability of the Jummas to elect their representatives as Members of Parliament from the CHT district.
 
     Read more from BangladeshNews.com.bd  (weblink)
    Read also: "Restoring Democracy in Bangladesh" - News report from International Crisis Group, 28 April 2008 (weblink)
    Find more news on CHT (internal link)

On 27 April 2008, members of the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) kidnapped and killed Ram Hari Shrestha in Chitwan. In the wake of increasing public protest, Prachanda agreed to investigate. In the past, numerous commissions which investigated violations committed by the security forces or the Maoists have failed to deliver justice. The one issue that binds all the major political groupings in Nepal is a refusal to address the structural issues created by impunity. Impunity has hampered integration.
This ACHR Weekly Review examines the impact of impunity in the context of Nepal’s shaky peace.

    Read the ACHR Weekly Review here (web link) 

The international Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHT Commission) was re-established with a renewed mandate on 1 June 2008 during a two-day meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The core mission of the re-established CHT Commission is to promote respect for human rights, democracy, and restoration of civil and political rights, participatory development and land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.  The Commission considers the implementation of an equitable system of land title registration, and of settlement of land rights disputes, to be the key to a peaceful and harmonious future for the peoples of the CHT.  The CHT Commission is composed of concerned experts from inside and outside Bangladesh and will build on the work already undertaken by the original CHT Commission between 1990 and 2001.  The CHT Commission members elected Ms. Sultana Kamal, Ms. Ida Nicolaisen and Lord Eric Avebury as co-chairs of the re-established CHT Commission.

    Find the reports of the first CHT Commission in our CHT section (internal link)

Recognition at last for Japan's Ainu

June 2008

The Ainu celebrated a historic moment Friday 6 June as the Diet unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes them as indigenous people of Japan. The unprecedented resolution was adopted by both chambers, acknowledging the Ainu's hardships from discrimination and poverty. (Japan Times online)

    Read The Japan Times online
    Read the BBC article

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