In a significant push to reform Nepal’s prison system, Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak has vowed to transform correctional facilities across the country into "industrial villages" aimed at rehabilitation, productivity, and human rights.
Many of these political prisoners, primarily arrested in the 1990s and early 2000s, remain behind bars without any hope of release, despite Bhutan’s claims that no such prisoners exist.
Inmates complain of human rights abuse and indifference by prison officials regarding the risk of COVID-19, inadequate heating during winter, lack of proper hygiene...
The UN appeal comes at a moment when humanitarian funding is already stretched by multiple crises. While CERF has provided rapid support, broader donor commitments remain insufficient relative to the scale of projected need.
South Asia’s lead crisis is not inevitable. Experience elsewhere demonstrates that decisive regulation, industrial formalisation and community-level interventions can sharply reduce exposure.
The UN appeal comes at a moment when humanitarian funding is already stretched by multiple crises. While CERF has provided rapid support, broader donor commitments remain insufficient relative to the scale of projected need.