Nepal: country report for use in refugee claims based on persecution relating to sexual orientation and gender identity

This Country Report on the conditions faced by LGBT persons in Nepal is intended to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of relevant legislation, case law, scholarship, and documentation from governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the media. Due to language and translation-related issues, however, it is necessarily confined to materials available in English. This report reveals a society in transition. Nepal is legislatively en route to greater acceptance of LGBT persons, but prejudice against homosexuality remains deeply entrenched in public opinion and in institutional actors, such as the police force. Nepal is currently in the middle of a prolonged process of constitutional reform (See below: Australian Government Refugee Review Tribunal, Country Advice on Nepal – Homosexuals and State Protection), and is operating under an interim constitution. In 2007, the Supreme Court struck down legislation criminalizing “unnatural sex” and directed the government to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (See below: International Gay and Lesbian Commission, IGLHRC and Lambda Legal Consulting with Nepali Government on LGBTI Rights Protections). However, much of the legislation has not yet been updated to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. While the discriminatory laws remain on the books, they are not enforced (See below: International Lesbian and Gay Association, Nepal Law). Despite this positive trajectory, NGO and Media Reports make it clear that a great deal of work remains to be done. NGOs have documented extensive discrimination, harassment, violence, police brutality, and detention without cause directed against LGBT people in Nepal. In fact, the overwhelming majority of human rights violations reported by these NGOs were perpetrated by government officials, notably police officers. All of these problems appear to be especially prevalent for “third gender” (i.e., trangender, called “metis” in Nepal) individuals. Furthermore, in May 2011 the Supreme Court broke from its progressive trend and dismissed an appeal by a lesbian woman who had been expelled from the Nepalese army because of her sexual orientation (See below: United States Department of State, 2010 Country Report on Human Rights Practices (Nepal); Tara Bhattarai, “Nepal Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage, Discrimination Persists”), which may indicate a back peddling of the court’s earlier advances.