Diversity

Religious minority prisoners in Pakistan are subjected to systemic discrimination, harsh treatment and denial of basic rights compared to their Muslim counterparts.

The council also criticized the government for excluding minorities from all reform commissions, which were set up to recommend measures aimed at combating discrimination and promoting social justice.

Terming forced religious conversion and forced marriage of Christian and Hindu minor girls to older Muslim men as the most concerning issue, the report notes that there are few legal options available to the victims.

Beyond gender, structural reform discussions aim to shift from a unicameral legislature to a bicameral one – a vision that most parties accept in principle.

In a strongly worded statement issued on July 2, the Lahore-based HRCP warned that recent efforts by authorities to block its public events and intimidate staff represent an unprecedented assault on its mission since the organisation was founded in 1987.

President Paudel expressed concern over Nepal’s increasing reliance on imported rice and paddy. He underscored the importance of adopting climate-smart technologies and making use of domestic human resources to foster self-reliance in agriculture.

From green energy projects imposed without consent to policy decisions made in rooms where Indigenous voices are absent, these communities are too often excluded from climate solutions, displaced by them, and denied the resources to lead the way.

The United Nations has acknowledged that slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were crimes against humanity and has called for remedial action.