Mades Province Dalit Rights Conference Concludes with 10-Point Bardibas Declaration

Mahottari. The Mades Province-level Dalit Rights Conference has concluded by issuing a 10-point 'Bardibas Declaration-2083', demanding climate justice, social inclusion, and land and forest rights for the liberated Harwa Charwa community.

The province-level Dalit rights conference focused on climate justice for liberated Harwa Charwa, organized by the National Dalit Network Nepal with the support of the Grant Mechanism (DGM) Nepal, dedicated to indigenous tribes and local communities, was held in Bardibas, Mahottari.

The declaration demands that the government practically implement the rights related to the true identity, certification, social inclusion, and climate justice of the liberated Harwa Charwa community.

Similarly, the declaration demands that the 'Harwa Charwa Inventory Collection, Certification, and Identity Card Distribution Directive-2080' be immediately published in the gazette and implemented, scientific land identification and organized settlement arrangements be made for landless and homeless families, and data collection and identity card distribution campaigns be conducted in all eight districts of the Mades Province.

The declaration also demands that the liberated Harwa Charwa community be ensured proportional participation in the emission reduction program and benefit-sharing plan implemented by Nepal, transparency be maintained in forest-based benefit distribution, and community representation be increased in community forest management.

The declaration mentions that separate budgets should be allocated for citizenship, education, health insurance, social security, and dignified employment, legal provisions should be strengthened to free the community from the debt of high interest from moneylenders, and income-generating opportunities should be expanded through cooperatives and agricultural businesses.

The declaration also includes the demand for ensuring at least 50 percent participation of Harwa Charwa women in policy-making, monitoring committees, and decision-making processes, and prioritizing settlements affected by climate-induced disasters such as floods, inundation, and drought in local adaptation plans and disaster management programs.

A proposal has also been put forward in the declaration to form a joint monitoring mechanism comprising the provincial government, relevant ministries, and community representatives to regularly review the implementation of the commitments mentioned in the Mades Province government's policy and program for the fiscal year 2083/84 and the demands of the declaration.

According to a study conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2013, it is estimated that there are more than one lakh Harwa Charwa in the eight districts of the Mades Province. Although the Government of Nepal declared the liberation of Harwa Charwa on July 18, 2022, the conference emphasized practical implementation, stating that most families are still landless, stateless, and deprived of basic services.

The conference was attended by the Mades Province Government's Minister for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives Shyam Prasad Patel, Member of Parliament Ganesh Bahadur Bishwakarma, representatives of the Harwa Charwa community from all eight districts, human rights activists, policy experts, civil society, and journalists.