A welcome induction

Ram Chandra Paudel’s induction as deputy prime minister in the cabinet the other day is, apparently Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s initiative to sort out differences between himself and party leader Girija Prasad Koirala. For, what the Prime Minister had shunned at the time of forming his government eight months ago, has now proved a condition inevitable for him. Obviously, Paudel’s induction may play a vital role
in bridging the perceived gap between the government and the ruling party. But this alone is definitely not going to make things easy for Prime Minister, unless his newly welcomed deputy finds some concrete ways to achieve mutual harmony.

In fact, the persistent hostilities in the ruling party have their roots in the clash for power between Prime Minister Bhattarai and party leader Koirala. What had come as a sudden resignation of Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya a few days back also was—to delve into the party’s interior—a part of the same tussle between the two NC camps. Otherwise, how is it that members of the cabinet should fail to agree even on the name of person to be appointed for some post? Thus, given the present situation of the party and the government, Paudel, as an influential second generation leader, will have to work really hard to make things better.

Although the Prime Minister has tried to keep Koirala in good humour by appointing Paudel as the Deputy Prime Minister, he has refused to listen to Acharya on the issue of appointment of the new Nepal Rastra Bank governor. Instead the prime minister has preferred to see Acharya’s exit and accepted his resignation. Thus, in a way, the induction of Paudel in the deputy premiership has been a mere quid pro quo, and hence may not be of much help in sorting things out.

While such is the scene on the one hand, on the other there is still a tough task for Prime Minister Bhattarai, that is, to get an able hand for either the Finance or Foreign Ministry. For, although Acharya’s portfolio has currently been awarded to Foreign Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, this arrangement, obviously, could not be deemed long-lasting because both the ministries require full-time supervision. Bhattarai must therefore induct a capable person for the post of foreign minister. Anyway, Paudel’s induction as the deputy premier deserves to be welcomed by all since as a clean and respectable second generation leader of the NC he is expected
to do something to keep his beleaguered party in sound order. His induction is also to be welcomed if only because it is a pointer that the Nepali Congress leadership now is actually getting transferred to the new generation.

A decade of child rights convention

By Rakesh Chhetri

The year 1999 marked the first decade of the UN convention on the Rights of the Child unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly is 1989. The Convention has been hailed as a landmark in the international effort to strengthen justice, peace and freedom in the world through promotion and protection of human rights. It is the most comprehensive and complete international legal declaration on children’s rights concerning their protection development and welfare. It is also the most special and sensitive of all human rights instruments, since, it represents a commitment to the future of humankind.

The Convention has almost unanimous support and it is the first nearly universally ratified human rights treaty in history. Only two states that have not yet become party on the Convention are the United States, which has signed but not ratified, and Somalia, where has neither signed nor ratified it. As a universal declaration and international law on the basic rights of a child, the convention is considered as a powerful tool for changing human, social, political and legal attitudes. It envisages changes in national legislation and practice for promoting child rights in the protection, development and welfare of children.

The farsighted convention recognises the important role of the children of today (half the world’s population) in carrying out future works of creating a just and human social order. It recognises that children are the strength and future of a nation, and that only by awakening our social and national conscience for the protection and well being of children and by giving them their entitlements and rights can we secure the strength of our nations.

It is the principal legal reference in combat against sexual exploitation of children. Complementing the convention, in 1992, the UN Human Rights Commission adopted the Programme of Action for prevention of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The convention lays down the basic foundation for protection, security, development, welfare of the child and acknowledges the primary role of the family and parents in the care and protection of children, and the obligation of the State to help them carry out these duties. The respect for human rights begins with the way society treats its children. A caring society will create conditions in which they can develop their full potentials. The government and civil society must intensify social movement for effective realisation of the rights of a child through promotion, dissemination and propagation of the principles and provisions of the convention at the grassroots level.

The convention has been hailed for its universal and forward looking principles for its efforts in protecting a child's rights. Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12 of the convention have set four general principles to help with its interpretation for guiding the national programmes of implementation.

Article 2 stipulates that no child should suffer discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or the parent’s or the legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status. It is the state’s obligation to protect children from discrimination and to take positive actions to promote their rights. The essential message is equal opportunity for all children, including refugee children and girls.

Article 3 takes into account the best interests of the child which must be the primary consideration of the State in all decisions affecting them whether it be by courts of law, administrative authorities, legislative bodies and both public and private social welfare institutions. The state must provide the child with adequate care when parents, or others charged with that responsibility, fail to do so.

The right to survival and development article (Art 6) envisages that every child has the inherent right to life, and the state has an obligation to ensure the child’s survival and development, not only of physical health but also mental, emotional, cognitive, social and cultural development.

Article 12 says that children should be free to have opinions in all matters affecting him/her. They have the right to be heard and to have their views taken seriously, including in any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting them.

A number of international human rights bodies contribute to improving respect for the rights of the child in their particular areas of competence. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) comprising ten experts was created in 1991 as a specialized body to monitor State compliance in promotion of children’s rights.

State parties, after ratification or accession to the convention, are required to review their national laws and bring it in line with the provisions of the convention. They are required to submit regular reports to CRC on the steps taken to implement its provisions and on progress in the enjoyment of children’s rights in their territories. Failure to comply makes them answerable to the international community. The first implementation reports are to be submitted within two years of the ratification or accession to the convention and thereafter every five years. CRC currently holds three sessions a year.

It is not surprising that most of the people are not aware of the convention. The 15th and 16th sessions of the UN committee on the rights of the child (CRC) held in may and September 1997 expressed its concern about the need for promotion of widespread awareness of the principles and provisions of the convention among the population (adults and children alike) and training of professional groups working with or for children and the lack of awareness of the convention and its principles; lack of training on the convention. It recommended initiation of awareness raising campaigns on child rights through education and training and broad dissemination (translation) of the convention on the rights of the child in the local languages.

Crimes against children, sexual exploitation, paedophilia, child trafficking and prostitution and child labour are found in both developed and developing countries. They are one of the biggest challenges ever faced by humankind. In order to eradicate crime against children and their exploitation, to secure a better childhood, it is very important for everyone to know, realize and become aware of the convention, the rights it proclaims and to support efforts to make them a reality for all children.

The advice not taken

By D L Bhandari

No sooner the high school results were announced, we boys were at our school in a celebratory mood. The very excitement of having passed was intoxicating. We took this as a prequel to college life to be followed by a working life. It seemed so rosy. Not many give everything a serious thought while they are young, I suppose

Once there, we were subjected to in what may be called the last lesson from a caring class teacher Raja Ram Singh who believed in putting in hard work even as he made it a point to tell us that there was no substitute to hard work and perseverance.

A graduate in Hindi, he had mastered Shakespeare to the envy of English teachers. He used to recite from Avigyanashakuntalam and also spoke passable French, they said. He was, in fact, one of the most revered teacher at St. John The Baptist High School, Bombay. Understandably, he never spared anyone for failing to catch up with the rest. The occasional slaps he accorded could be heard from the fifth to the ground floor.

He called each one of us one by one into the office that day. The parade was to brief each one of us according to the need since he had come to know each one of us inside out in the course of a year. As it soon became evident, Singh was asking the boys what each one of them was going to study at college and what the future plans were.

Truthfully speaking, I was one of his worst students and also one of those who was left alone even as the whole class got the thrashing at times. He knew it that I was not a duffer although I never impressed him. Procrastination remains the underlying rot with me. So deep was the rot that I had failed in prelims. Consequently, Singh had taken me as most likely to fail.

But there I was, with eyes aglow. He told me he never expected me to pass. He then asked what I was going to study at college, I told him since I looked forward to take up journalism as my career, I would study arts. Believe it or not, I had never given a thought to what I should take up at college, leave alone what I should ultimately become. Nonetheless, I spoke as if I had planned everything.

I now realise, I had mistaken him for someone who did not have proper understanding of the profession although, the idea had come to my mind on the spur of the moment. But it is what he then told me that comes back to me with recurring frequency.

A lover of newspapers himself, he told me was journalism was not a profession which could ensure bread and butter any more. In fact, he advised me to drop the idea of studying arts. He was suggesting either commerce or science depending upon the proficiency level of the boy. It took me two decades to realise the value of advice tendered all for free and with love by someone who cared for his pupils. Rightfully enough, journalism is indeed a least rewarding profession if one fails to work hard enough.

Enron for Karnali : Issues on downstream benefits

By Rajendra K Kshatri

The country has opened its doors to foreign investment. The government may initiate a particular hydropower project by soliciting bids from potential parties or it may receive unsolicited proposals from interested power developers to promote the development of a particular project.

Despite recent privatization policies and regulations, there is still lack of clarity at the political level in terms of how the country should move forward with privatisation in order to attract private investments. Much of the difficulty seems to arise from sharp differences of opinion between political parties as well as their profound ignorance of the dynamics of resource management. Consequently, failure to respond to these pressures in a constructive way has often provoked political backlash, which has diminished, to some extent, the effectiveness of programmes and policies.

In 1997, an agreement on Electric Power Trade was reached between Nepal and India, the conclusion of which addresses rules of electric trade for mutual benefit. The actual substance of the agreement has no such provision which could be controversial. Yet, the agreement has not been ratified.

The West-Seti Hydroelectric Project is being planned mainly for energy export purposes. SMEC West-Seti Hydroelectric Project corporation is waiting to see the said agreement ratified in order to finally shape its agenda of power purchase agreements with its potential Indian counterparts. The impact of these factors can be easily overstated given the fact that competitive power market could not come at a
more opportune time. Still, the growing interest of private investors in Nepal’s hydropower industry illustrates the potential to provide a significant opportunity to develop electricity trading within this region.

Over the past couple of years, the US energy giant Enron’s proposal to develop, finance, build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) the Karnali-Chisapani Hydroelectric Project with an installed capacity of 10,800Mw has been reviewed and it has been allowed to conduct preliminary study with certain preconditions. With this decision, a crucial role has been assigned to Enron to ascertain benefits accruing from the Karnali-Chisapani project to India.

Issues and targets of downstream benefits distribution critically emerge from the core elements of equitable utilisation of water resources of both Nepal and India. In a situation where countries possess different attitudes towards sharing benefits, it is likely that they will disagree on benefits evaluation. In such a case, the final outcome is not the prescription of benefits through any analysis but through negotiations. In this regard, both India and Nepal need to identify the issues that are specific to their river basins and indicate priorities within a specified time period. The actual status and assessment of benefits, therefore needs to be individually identified and collectively agreed upon.

On the whole, the assessment and allocation of downstream benefits should be made in the form of a treaty through political negotiations and harmonization of rules for setting principles for downstream benefits through operating monitoring programs, including data processing and evaluation procedures to ascertain benefits. Information for ascertaining such benefits can only be obtained from primary sources containing statistical or administrative information. This prerequisite of data base, therefore, will be lacking in the absence of Indian participation without a broad based cooperation package.

Through its feasibility study the project provides for potential downstream benefits. Enron has also included the potential to market such benefits to India. However, it receives no revenue from such benefits. If India is willing to pay for these benefits, Nepal will receive additional revenue. These considerations seem to be quite illusory at this point when India has already undermined the Mahakali Treaty on the issue of lower Sharada canal with the attempt to retain it as an existing consumptive use.

It is essential to question whether the government should go ahead with Enron to utilise resources and pursue the issue of benefits afterwards or to address such issues first then to go ahead with Enron. A careful decision on this will decide the fate of Nepal's quest for economic prosperity.

The obligation to share benefits exists under customary international law even when these benefits have not been solicited or agreed to. As India receives benefits, it must also bear part of the cost or some other forms of compensation. However, a zero sum game is being played. If we want India to take our interest into account, we should rather open to them what our interests are.

Different objectives and alternative opportunities are always in contention when a river divides international frontiers. Now we must not exaggerate the extent of downstream benefits. For one thing, it does not eliminate the significance of territoriality and second, it is not a force of simple homogenization. In short, the benefit conundrum is complicated. Unfortunately, there is no one methodology or technique that can solve the problems in different cases or even a single basin without pragmatism. The decisions have to emerge from negotiations.

In Nepal, the notion of downstream benefits has suffered from over-simplification, exaggeration and wishful thinking. Usually opinions are made with or without vision, with or without social responsibility by our politicians and so called experts treating such issues on an ad hoc and non-comprehensive basis. Nevertheless, little consensus does exist on the definition and implications of downstream benefits. With these complex problems together with the much publicized tension in the allocation of benefits, the initiative taken so far by His Majesty’s Government represents a departure from
the treatment of hydropower generation as the driving impetus for its growing economy.

While preserving the relative distribution of benefits through time appears desirable, there often are valid reasons for lumpsum payments. This flexibility may be desirable because each basin is a unique entity with particular economic, cultural and political variables. With respect to the progress made by India in using the waters of the Karnali river, Nepal should feel itself entitled to use water and take whatever measures it wish to allocate benefits accruing from any such project, otherwise it will have rivers that are of no use to the economy.

The stakes in downstream benefits are high and the arguments understandably become passionate. For its proponents, it is wise to realise that bolstering the positive potential of downstream benefits was never simple in the history of world's water politics. It does not mean that Nepal should not stress the need to protect its interest in terms of downstream benefits to be compensated by India. When available water resources are wisely used and suitably regulated — perhaps by a combination of public and private agencies of both Nepal and India — the issue of downstream benefits can be steered to more legally responsible, welfare and economy enhancing ends.