Following an assessment trip to Nepal, a report and action plan
regarding the political rights of Nepalese internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and refugees is being released by IOM today.



The release of the action plan comes after a successful colloquium
held two weeks ago in Geneva on the political rights of conflict
forced migrants that brought together specialists from the fields
of migration and elections to explore the difficult issues
surrounding the enfranchisement of IDPs and refugees.



The colloquium, assessment trip and action plan are products of
IOM’s Political Rights and Enfranchisement System
Strengthening Project (PRESS), funded by USAID.



“Maintaining a focus on all the people of Nepal including
those displaced by conflict is essential for the future stability
of Nepal,” said IOM’s Director General, Brunson
McKinley.



Ten years of fighting between the government of Nepal and Maoist
rebels has killed over 13,000 Nepalese and produced substantial
human displacement. Estimates on the number of IDPs vary between
100,000 and 500,000. An unknown but potentially even larger number
of persons affected by the conflict have fled to India.



The action plan examines issues associated with displacement and
migration (internal and external) in the context of the proposed
Constituent Assembly elections which will begin the process of
drafting a new democratic constitution for Nepal.



The IOM report stresses the need for the country’s political
forces to balance the need to keep the transition moving forward
with the recognition that the Constituent Assembly elections will
require careful planning and a realistic timeline.



Jeremy Grace, Senior Advisor and Research Coordinator for the PRESS
project and author of the report stressed: “An electoral
process that disenfranchises significant social groups would
jeopardize the prospect for a sustainable peace. Our report
highlights the profound need to begin considering the political and
technical elements of the Constituent Assembly election process
early so those displaced by the conflict can participate in this
and future elections.”



The action plan was produced following a recent assessment mission
to Nepal that included meetings with political parties, the
Elections Commission, government agents and Ministry Secretaries,
civil society organizations, representatives from IDP communities,
journalists, and national and international humanitarian
organizations.



The action plan states that in order for elections to occur in a
manner that is inclusive, free and fair, all stakeholders must
address the following issues: transition and ceasefire;
citizenship; registration and documentation; electoral formula;
redistricting of administrative boundaries and zones; census; voter
registration and balloting for IDPs and migrants; and the
possibility of external voting.



Since 1996, IOM has supported the enfranchisement of migrants in
over 74 countries through out-of country voting programmes for
Bosnia and Herzegovina, East Timor, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.




The action plan and information on IOM’s PRESS Project can be
found on the PRESS website
href="http://www.geneseo.edu/~iompress" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.geneseo.edu/~iompress