Lalitpur, July 10: The Indigenous Nationalities Commission has released 25 suggestions to update the ambiguous provisions in the constitution in a timely manner and to ensure an inclusive, fair, and effective governance system.
The Commission has released a 25-point suggestion for constitution amendment, highlighting the need to implement the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples more effectively while including federalism, proportional inclusion, republicanism, secularism, and cultural diversity.
At a press conference held in Pulchowk on Thursday, the commission’s chairman Ram Bahadur Thapamagar stated that based on the request for suggestions regarding constitution amendments received from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the commission has prepared its stance and submitted it to the government.
Commission Chairperson Thapamagar said that it is necessary to clarify and complete some provisions that the Constitution of Nepal could not cover or were unclear, adding the ‘Gen Z Movement’ has also highlighted the need for constitutional amendments.
He expressed the view that the constitution is not an unchangeable document but a fundamental law that should be amended according to time, circumstances, public aspirations, and social-political changes.
The commission has suggested that all languages written in the indigenous nationalities’ scripts should be recognized as official languages, that it should be possible to sing the national anthem in those languages designated by the provincial government, and that the state itself should take responsibility for preserving the language and culture of each community.
Similarly, it has been proposed that autonomous regions should also be constitutionally recognized as a level of government, and that representation of different genders and communities should be ensured in high constitutional positions like the President and Vice President and others, and Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the National Assembly.
The commission suggested that those positions should be represented respectively by Khas Arya, indigenous nationalities, Madhesis, Dalits, or the Muslim community.
Likewise, the representation of indigenous nationalities must be ensured in the National Assembly, the name of the Indigenous Nationalities Commission should be changed to ‘National Indigenous Nationalities Commission’, and the work, duties, and rights of the commission should be clearly defined in the constitution.
