SINHAS Vol 29 No 1 Ingrid Massagé

Reflections on Thirty Years of Human Rights Work on and in Nepal

Abstract
The article contains personal reflections on the author’s time working on human rights issues in Nepal for Amnesty International, the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, and with Nepali partner organizations over the last three decades. Starting from a point of view that human rights work is a highly contextualized practice grounded in international human rights standards, the article explores three intersecting narrative vectors in which human rights practice is constructed and motivated: 1) the self; 2) the state and non-state actors and systems; and 3) organizational and institutional affiliations and modes of action. The reflections are presented with a view to inform and inspire current human rights defenders in Nepal into some reflections of their own.
The article focuses on the narratives of the self as “human rights practitioner” and “human rights defender” and the gradual professionalization of human rights work, including practical (sometimes hard) lessons learned. It further explores the differences between working with a non-government organization versus the United Nations, and expands on the need for collaborative strategies, calling for more coherent work across ethnic and gender divides to ensure impact. International donors are urged to rethink their funding strategies, steering support towards longer-term work to address systemic human rights issues and to support more human rights work taking place beyond Kathmandu.

Keywords: Human rights violations, human rights practitioner, human rights funding, impunity, transitional justice