Human Rights during COVID-19: Adopting digital solutions in Nepal
After working five years in Qatar Dinesh Mahatara (name changed) returned to his home village in Kalikot in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic. He had hope of returning to the labour destination and resuming work soon.
But the Nepal government didn’t grant a final labour permit nor it satisfied him when asked about why he was denied from returning to work. The government continued to extend lockdown in response to surging COVID-19. With this, his demand remained unaddressed for long.
The migrant worker had no place to go. Panicked by the pandemic-induced stress Dinesh approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding to ensure his right to return to his workplace.
“I realized it was a violation of my human rights,” said Dinesh, 32, adding, “I knew about this from a friend and logged on the NHRC’s mobile app to register my complaint in which the NHRC took prompt action and response.”
In March 2020, Nepal enforced the first lockdown, which lasted for four months. As the virus reached every corner of the country, Nepal enforced one after another restrictions to contain the virus from spreading further. Because of the restriction rules, most of the government offices remained closed for months. Rights bodies, including the NHRC could not operate fully.
Victims were deprived from registering their complaints of human rights violation during the lockdown enforced to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Human rights situation was not satisfactory. Very few complaints were registered.
To address the cases of rights violation during the lockdown, NHRC for the first time launched a mobile app, using which Dinesh was able to lodge his complaints from his smart phone.
“The introduction of mobile app has helped NHRC to reach out and connect with victims. The technology has connected NHRC with every household”,” said Lok Nath Bastola, head of investigation division of NHRC.
The mobile app offers a form for victims wherein they can fill up details of human rights violations by using their cell phone and upload them. The mobile app is available both in Nepali and English languages, and victims using android and IOS cellphones can easily register complaints online in written or oral form. If any victim registers the complaint by using audio recording, the investigation division of the NHRC forwards it to the authorities concerned for further action.
Human rights officials later register those cases formally once those complaints land at a mobile app. Then, NHRC initiates investigations into the complaints.
Victims say the app has helped them to get in touch with the human rights body during difficult times.
“This mobile app is victim friendly,” said Dinesh.
Saman Manandhar, an official at the NHRC said the digital complaint hearing mechanism has replaced paper-based approach. People’s access to the commission has increased despite back-to-back lockdowns and restrictions.
The human rights mobile app has added a mechanism to enhance accessibility of the victims, especially those with physical and sensory disabilities including the wheelchair users, to legal information and services as it allows people to digitally register a case, learn about their human rights, laws, and precedents, and be updated of the most recent news regarding human rights in particular, the issues in relations to COVID-19 and response measures.
“The app was part of a comprehensive package of support from UNDP to help the Commission continue its duties even during the pandemic,” said Tek Tamata, UNDP’s Portfolio Manager. “In rolling out innovation in human rights monitoring and in particular human rights investigation, the app would be instrumental. It aims at helping the Commission to digitize the entire case management system and ultimately ease people’s access to their rights.”
Through the Strategic Plan Support Project (SPSP), UNDP supported the commission to mobilize human rights networks (85 watchdogs and 450 rights monitors) across the country for human rights monitoring during the COVI-19 pandemic and set up video conferencing system to connects its main and branch offices across the country. The project also carried out assessment on due diligence of business and human rights at private sectors and compliance of business communities during the crisis and developed a human rights monitoring network in 77 districts in collaboration with civil society organizations.
To further boost NHRC’s outreach, SPSP supported to develop and broadcast human rights PSAs through 34 FM stations in 14 local languages.
“We reached over more than 1,500,000 people covering 77 districts of Nepal which built awareness among vulnerable communities on the basic human rights to be respected during the pandemic.” Says Hari Prasad Gnwali, Under Secretary at the NHRC.
These PSAs became tools in promoting NHRC’s outreach to the common people, especially focusing on vulnerable people during the government announced lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic. Streaming NHRC’s appeal to the citizens and concerned quarters in protecting human rights of people even in crisis, these PSAs delivered NHRC’s commitment to protecting the right to health, consumers’ rights, and access to essential commodities and services as well as effective health checkup services. It also appealed to the citizens to follow the government’s decision in combating the pandemic and providing daily commodities to vulnerable people to safeguard the right to life and livelihood.
In developing networks with civil society to flash out local human rights issues, SPSP/UNDP catered its additional assistance to NRHC to develop a network with CSOs across the country partnering with the Nepal Bar Association, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists and the NGO Federation of Nepal to monitor the human rights situation in the pandemic.
Creating four layers of networks covering seven provinces and 77 districts, NHRC in assistance of UNDP monitored the human rights situation and issues across the country, particularly the actions taken by the Government of Nepal to combat COVID-19 including management of health treatment, rights of the consumer, freedom of expression, access to the judicial administration, and the citizens’ duties among others taking the human rights monitoring checklist on COVID-19 into consideration. A total of 85 ad hoc networks and committees of 450 members were mobilized to monitor human rights situation whereby they developed necessary virtual systems for the regular interactions; conducted continued meeting and interaction; coordinated with the government stakeholders; prepared the assessment and updated accordingly to NHRC.
“These networks have been a good platform to consolidate diverse strength to look into human rights as they monitored the human rights situation and human rights issues particularly the actions taken by the Government of Nepal to combat COVID-19 whereby NHRC released more than 34 of press releases drawing the attention of government and monitored 98 Human Rights Violation Cases during pandemic. NHRC’s such practice has been recognized by international NHRIs,” said Bed Bhattarai, former Secretary at NHRC.
Connecting and mobilizing these networks, NHRC rigorously made several recommendations to the Government, including on the rights of migrant workers, detainee’s rights, persons with disability and senior citizens. Networks reached out to the communities for better protection and promotion of human rights and reported to NHRC. Based on information received by the network, NHRC developed human rights situation reports during the pandemic. These experiments of NHRC have shown the possibility of expanding innovative digital solutions to address the challenges posed by COVID-19 and similar disasters.
