Nepal in the WTO:
For Nepal trade must address how benefits are structured to uplift the people

Dev Raj Dahal, FES, NepaL Office

The fifth WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled to be held in Cancun, Mexico (14th September 2003) aims to take stock of the progress in negotiation and other works under the Doha Development Agenda. Issue such as trade in services, agriculture and environment negotiated in Doha are crucial for the development prospects of developing countries including those in South Asia.

Achieving a more peaceful and more equitable world order requires a global community based on negotiated consensus, rather than status. Therefore, for development to be meaningful, the focus of negotiation has to be on the realization of mutual self-interests of poor and rich nations alike, as well as their shared interest in maintaining a liberal international order. South Asian nations need to reduce “unequal exchanges” in the international as well as regional divisions of labor if they are to bring about positive transformation in their internal societies-societies that are afflicted with inequalities of all sorts.

These positive changes are crucial in South Asia’s quest for equitable treatment of their citizens. At the same time, their pursuit for growth, employment and wages need to be unwavering and simultaneous. Only a balanced approach can help reduce frictions and conflict. If conflict is the product of the pre-economic period, one must, however, utilize the meaning of economic power for market functions. And, reduction of conflict is a precondition for meaningful cooperation—both inter-societal and intra-societal.

Non-completion of trade agreements by rich nations that are favorable to the poorer ones, pressure on poorer countries to open their lucrative services markets while protecting their own farm sectors through import barriers and subsidies, and their hunt for new concessions for investments in developing countries to the extent of challenging domestic regulatory requirements have increased weaker nations’ vulnerability to global economic uncertainties. This can act as a disincentive for them to contribute to the global economic order. Similarly environment exists even among developing countries themselves, especially between the least developed ones and their better off counterparts. Fair trade, indeed, has a pacifying influence not only between nation states but among the people as well.

South Asia possesses a huge surplus labor force and agriculture constitutes the backbone of its economy in terms of employment. But this sector is open to the vagaries of the subsidies regime of the rich countries, like suppressed prices, which are transferred through the market to the most vulnerable of citizens of the poor nations- the farm laborers. The direct consequence of suppressed prices is on wages resulting in untold miseries and legendary exploitations of the farm laborers. Free trade should not mean the freedom for market forces to carry the ghastly effects of wrongful policies of one country to the other. Particularly, the poorest of the poor should not be made to justify why his or her existence needs to be protected.

For a country like Nepal, trade is not only adapting to the globalized world but also how the benefits of exchange are structured to uplift the people at the bottom of the society. Fair trade in this sense constitutes a bulwark for the maintenance of peace and security within the country too.

The Asia Foundation engaged in democratic, economic, and social development of Nepal

The Asia Foundation works to address a range of issues central to the long-term democratic, economic, and social development of Nepal

The Asia Foundation in Nepal works with both government and non-government institutions toward effective governance that is responsible and accountable, economic growth with broad opportunities, and stable social transformation. Through financial support, technical assistance, training and research, the Foundation focuses its efforts on three critical areas: law and government accountability; market-led economic growth; and women’s security. Local governance is emphasized throughout the program.

LAW AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

In order to strengthen public confidence in government, facilitate economic growth, protect and advance rights, and prevent the expansion of conflict, The Asia Foundation works to improve fair and effective implementation of laws, and strengthen mechanisms for local-level conflict resolution. The Foundation supported a national survey conducted by the Nepal Law Society confirming public disappointment in the performance of the courts, with corruption and inefficiency leading the list of perceived negative attributes. The Center for Legal Research and Resource Development researched weakn3ess in Nepali trial courts, issuing a report that prioritized areas for reform and provided background for a trail court manual for use by judges and court personnel. The Nepal Bar Association has made Supreme Court decisions available to appellate and district courts through a web-site and periodic publication of case compendia on CE-ROM. Foundation initiatives to strengthen the courts from within have been augmented by support to local organizations to improve accountability of the judiciary and bureaucracy. Pro Public expanded its public interest law firm, filing cases on a range of issues, including gender discrimination and corruption. Khoj Patrakarita Kendra published investigative reports on judicial and bureaucratic malfeasance, including corruption, in the transfer of title to land and bribery in district courts. The Foundation is also providing technical and financial support for the pilot introduction of local-level dispute resolution in 11 districts under a clause of the Local Self-Governance Act. Foundation partners are preparing user-friendly procedures for the mediated resolution of disputes, training community mediators, conducting public awareness of the mediation process, and pilot-testing mediation. The goal is to increase access to justice for ordinary citizens, while strengthening the culture of local dispute resolution.

SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Nepal’s economic growth is linked inextricably to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which comprise 80 percent of business, despite facing a variety of structural and policy restraints. To further bolster this vital sector of the economy, The Asia Foundation pursues efforts to remove policy and regulatory constraints, regularize business input into policy formulation, and reduce legal and socio-cultural impediments to women’s economic participation in the formal sector. The Center for Development and Governance reviewed and analyzed portions of the Industrial Enterprise Act and other relevant laws and taxation policies, and conducted a prioritization exercise with the business sector and government regulators to build consensus around the most critical reforms. The Information Technology Professionals Forum (ITPF) conducted consultations and advocacy on the draft Information Technology Bill and related laws and regulations, with particular attention to intellectual property rights, authentication of digital signatures and e-transactions, and Internet telephony and voice-over Internet protocol. ITPF has disseminated a policy report detailing advantages, technical prerequisites, and recommendations to the government, as well as a compendium of information technology success stories in Nepal.

WOMEN’S SECURITY

Although the status of Nepali women is beginning to improve, especially in urban areas, discrimination persists as a way of life. The Asia Foundation aims to increase women’s opportunities for full participation in social, political, and economic life through reducing the incidence of violence against women and combating trafficking and its negative effects on women and girls in Nepal. The Rural Women’s Development and Unity Center (RUWDUC) is working to counter violence against women in Dadeldhura District of Far West Nepal. Poor village women from a range of caste groups have been organized to work collectively in countering entrenched attitudes and practices. Awareness-raising activities have included street dramas, essay and art competitions, and the production and dissemination of posters and other informational materials. RUWDUC also manages two shelters for abused women and a legal aid programs. With U.S. Agency for International Development support, the Foundation launched a comprehensive three-year project in 2002 to combat trafficking of women and girls in Nepal, focusing on program interventions that recognize women’s rights to employment and mobility. The project has three interrelated objectives designed to strengthen prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration services, and the capacity of both government and NGOs to address the problem of trafficking. Activities focus on advocacy regarding anti-trafficking and safe migration issues. Partner NGOs include lead anti-trafficking players like Maiti Nepal, the Center for Legal Research and Resource Development, the NGO Federation of Nepal, the Women’s Rehabilitation Center, and Agroforestry and Basic Cooperatives Nepal. These partners conduct rights-based prevention education activities in seven districts identified as both “source” and “transit” locations for trafficking. The Center for Victims of Torture conducted training for partner NGOs on counseling of trafficking survivors and case management. Foundation support also enabled the National Network Against Girls Trafficking to enlarge its resource center and help mobilize other NGO networks to integrate anti-trafficking into their programs. As a complement to these activities, the Foundation is undertaking a project to promote gainful employment for 440 girls at risk of trafficking and trafficking survivors. NGO partners provide non-formal education, skills and vocational training, and placement and support. These interventions form a continuum, with each being a building block toward enabling girls participating in the program to achieve gainful employment, thus reducing the vulnerability of high-risk girls to trafficking and facilitating the reintegration of trafficking survivors into society.

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