Legislative Parliament 1 Study Guide

The Excelsior School Model United Nations Programme 2075

STUDY GUIDELEGISLATIVE PARLIAMENT 1

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Legislative Parliament 1 Study Guide

Table of Contents

Message from the Chair History of the Committee Introduction of Topic Current Situation Questions a resolution must answer Conclusion Sites for further research

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Message from the ChairGreeting, delegates.

I am happy to welcome you to the Legislative Parliament 1.I am sure the topics featured this year will prove both challenging and engaging for you, and that you will leave the committee with a better grasp on history. The days you spend in LP1 will show you how one idea, one decision can completely transform the trajectory.

I hope you guys will soak up all the knowledge gained from here like a sponge and implement it on 7th TESMUN. Also, you guys will be prepared for your first MUN and follow your procedures and if you guys have any question then we solemnly request you to please feel free to come to our Dais Panel and say your problem. Everything is difficult at first but if you keep on trying gradually becomes easier. So, I request all the delegates to please research properly in the topic and speak without any fear. We hope you guys will be full with resources and I want to see the committee full of raised placards and for you guys to speak loud, bold and clear, raise question and actively participate in the committee.

Delegates, the key advantage for you are Research, Loudness & clearness in voice and your active participation. We hope many of you will be getting chance to go for inter-School MUN. So please be disciplined and don’t make us upset. Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them. .Yes! I am aware this is your first time; your heart beat might accelerate like it never did before! You all are on different label, you all are bloomers, some might be fast bloomers some may be slow! But it’s up to you how will you flourish! Delegates!

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You explore with your ideas, research more there are no limits and at the end cherish all this memories. The way you will speak today will show you what you will be tomorrow. We hope this study guide will be a good point for you to start your MUN preparations. Of course, you’re expected to dive much deeper into the topics. Good luck; let’s make LP1 a fun and successful committee!

Legislative Parliament 1

-Koshish Shrestha(Chair)

Introduction of the Committee

After a hundred and four year long history of the Rana Dynesty in 2007 B.S the Rana ruling system was ended and an interim Parliament, which included the representatives of the CPN Maoist, was formed, and the Interim Constitution was promulgated. Protesting against the Interim Constitution, the Madheshi movement flared up. While Nepal is in transition, protest intensifies, with increased public protests, attacks on the police, destruction of government property, defying of curfews and an increase in the levels of violence. But the disturbance is called off when the prime minister promised to introduce federalism and increase the number of seats in the CA on the basis of population size. Later, 27 Maoists were killed in Gaur by Madhesi Janadhikar Forum supporters. The government was working smoothly but suddenly King Mahendra dissolved the government. Then, all the leaders were either put in custody or exiled to India, all the political parties were banned and Panchayat system was introduced.

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In 2046 B.S there was a civil war I in Nepal to remove panchayat system and bring party system government in Nepal then Krishna Prasad Bhattrai became prime minister of Nepal.

From 2052 B.S Maoist Nepal war started leaded by Dr. Baburam Bhattrai which lasted for 10 yrs till 2062 B.S and where many police, citizens and members of the Maoist army were also killed. Nepal had a huge economic crisis and physical loss with destruction of many infrastructures and physical land structures. In 2062 B.S there was a peace treaty between the Maoist and Nepali government. After that there was the civil war II 62\63 for removing the ruling system and picking up democracy (loktrantra). In 2063\01\11 king Gyanendra Shah was removed from the throne and later Dr. Rambaran Yadav became the first president of Nepal. The interum Constitution 2063 was introduced after it.

Then recently in Ashwin 3 2072 Constitution of Nepal was built with the statement of division of the country into 7 federal states. This caused the authority of the state to be divided into 3 levels ; federal, provincial and Local. The federal legislature of Nepal is called federal parliament. Parliament having a single house is called unicameral Parliament and having two houses is called bicameral Parliament. According to Interim

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Constitution of Nepal 2063 BS, Parliament of Nepal has a single house which is called ‘Pratinidhi Sabha’. According to the Constitution of Nepal 2072 BS, the legislature of Nepal has two houses:

House of Representatives National Assembly

The National Assembly (NA) is a permanent body, with 56 members chosen by an electoral college consisting of PA members and village and municipal executive members. Three members are nominated by the president. It has a term of six years, with one-third of its members retiring every two years on a rotational basis.

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Federal parliament of Nepal, with the Upper house being the National Assembly. Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a parallel voting system. They hold their seat for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the International Convention Centre in Kathmandu. The House has 275 members; 165 elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional electoral system where voters vote for political parties, considering the whole country as a single election constituency. The House of Representatives, unless dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting.

The president and vice president are constitutional posts with nominal power. They are elected by an electoral college formed by the House of Representatives, National Assembly and PA members.

The members of the PA choose chief ministers to run the respective provinces.

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A total of 753 local units, spread across 77 districts in seven provinces, have been elected to run the village and municipal administration.

The main political parties of Nepal are:

Communist Party of Nepal Nepali Congress party Rastriya Prajatantra Party Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal

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Introduction to Topic

It should be known that our topic for TESMUN is “Formulation and Implementation of Plans and Policies for Sustainable Development of Nepal.”

Nepal, a least developed country (LDC) in South Asia, is characterized by slow economic growth, socioeconomic underdevelopment and a low level of human development. This underdevelopment stems from a politically and socially fragile post conflict situation, structurally generated poverty and inequality, deeply entrenched forms of social exclusion, and weak governance structures in all spheres of the state. Beginning in 1996, the country faced a long armed conflict triggered by political ambitions but rooted in social discrimination, economic inequality and poor service delivery by the state and weak governance. The 2006 peace accord between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist ended the conflict and addressed the political problems. The social and economic tensions associated with the conflict are being resolved through development efforts and inclusive state restructuring. After the popular People's Movement of 2006 and the Constituent Assembly elections of 2008 and 2013, a new political system of a secular democratic republic state has been enshrined in Nepal's new constitution (which was promulgated in September 2015). This brought the peace process to a logical conclusion with a federal constitution that reshapes the governance structure, and ensures

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fundamental civic, social and economic rights. The constitutional transition will lead the country towards a welfare state and a more inclusive society. Amid the constitutional and political transition, the country is in the process of rapid economic growth, socioeconomic transformation and graduation from least developed country status by 2015 (NPC, 2015a).

Sustainable Development has been a global agenda since the last 25 years. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) based on Millennium Declaration in the year 2000 by the United Nations (UN) has set foundation for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, and UN General Assembly (UNGA) held in September 2014 prepared solid foundation for SDGs and finally agreed in the UNGA held in September 2015. Nepal, as a member of the UN, is a part of this global initiative. Sustainable development continues to be in-built in Nepal's socio-economic development. Nepal's efforts for the successful implementation of the MDGs have also opened new ways for the implementation of SDGs planned for 2016-2030. Even before SDGs were adopted by the UNGA in September 2015, the Government of Nepal was already in the process of preparing a National Report. Nepal is an active member of the global initiative for sustainable development and has been closely observing the negotiations concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It looks forward to the further formulation and implementation of the global goals and for national adaptation to implement them for the general long-term development of the country. Those accepted Goals are seen to be:

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere. 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and

promote sustainable agriculture. 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages .4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote

lifelong learning opportunities for all.

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5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and

sanitation for all. 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern

energy for all.8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,

full and productive employment and decent work for all. 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable

industrialization and foster innovation.10. Reduce inequality within and among countries. 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient

and sustainable. 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine

resources for sustainable development. 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial

ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive.

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

For the country to have achieved those sustainable development goals that they had accepted, many problems can be seen. Misfortunately, a huge problem can be seen on Nepal’s development acts as even development projects of national pride are assigned to foreign

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companies without a tender. Negative Social practices have already seeped deep in our so called modern society as Nepali development acts are involved with corruption. So, the total sustainable development of Nepal, requires a lot of Good Plans and Policies which need to be implemented and formulated with full consensus government.

Current Situation

The country’s development efforts faced a serious jerk when the large earthquakes and aftershocks of April and May 2015 affected almost a third of the country's population, killed nearly 9,000 people, injured nearly 25,000, and resulted in a loss of more than Nepalese rupees (NPR) 700 billion of damage to human settlements, infrastructure, and archaeological sites. The government has come up with a massive rehabilitation and reconstruction strategy to address the direct needs and to restore the economy into a better shape. In spite of the decade-long conflict and slow economic growth, Nepal has maintained reasonable macroeconomic stability. Public finances remain on track with impressive revenue growth and fiscal deficits at less than 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on average during the last decade. Inflation has also remained in single digits on average. Despite a widening trade deficit, the balance of payments has remained mostly favourable and the country's foreign exchange reserves have grown to cover the cost of nearly a year’s worth of merchandize imports. Public sector indebtedness is very low with government debt (domestic and external) at below 25 percent of GDP in July 2015.

Nepal has been organizing 21 projects of national pride including Mid- Hilly Highway, Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and Pokhara

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Regional International Airport. These projects are underway but have not been completed despite of many time extensions. This is a small example of corruption prevalent in Nepal from the Upper levels to the lower levels of bureaucracy. The financial Chapter of Sustainable Development Goals, 2016-2030 National (Preliminary) Report 2 markets its function well with adequate liquidity and financial services that are expanding rapidly. The country’s economic growth has been modest, averaging four percent over the last decade. Political and social strife, the prolonged political transition, and political instability of the government have made for an unfavourable investment climate, suppressed agricultural activity, and undermined the expansion of services sectors like tourism and finance resulting in slow economic growth.

The recent earthquakes reduced the GDP growth rate to three percent in 2015. The country is passing through various economic risks and environmental vulnerabilities. The country’s excessive dependence on monsoon-fed agriculture, farming and human settlements on fragile lands, poor infrastructure, environmental degradation, and the effects of climate change on agriculture exacerbate these risks and vulnerability. Despite the economy facing so many challenges, absolute poverty (measured by the national definition) decreased from 42 percent in 1995 to 25 percent in 2010 and further to 23.8 percent in 2015 (MoF, 2015) — a reduction of at least one percentage point on average every year over the last two decades.

However, there are large disparities in regional, caste/ethnicity, gender and geographical outcomes. Certain social groups and geographical areas are far below the national average. The MPI also showed a large regional disparity in poverty outcomes, as poverty in the Far Western region in 2011 stood at 59.1 percent against 33.4 percent in the Western

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region. As elsewhere in South Asia, poverty in Nepal is a gendered issue and the incidence of poverty falls disproportionately on women and girls. There are also acute social and spatial dimensions of poverty. Poverty has a strong social dimension as Nepal has a legacy of a hierarchical social structure based on caste and ethnicity. Food self sufficiency is much lower among socially excluded people. Similarly, such people lag far behind in education and health. Income inequality is high as the Gini-coefficient, a measure of income inequality, stood at 0.328 in 2010. The share of the poorest quintile of the households in national consumption and income was only 7.6 percent and 4.1 percent respectively in 2010 (CBS, 2011a). Besides, there are also inequalities in social and human development.

Although many factors including poverty, income inequalities, and social exclusion have undermined human development, Nepal is one of the few countries with an impressive record of human development over the last two decades. But having started from a very low base, Nepal is still a country with low human development status. The Human Development Index (HDI) score for Nepal was 0.458 in 2011 (UNDP, 2014) as the second lowest ranking South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) country above Afghanistan. All Nepal’s national human development reports since 1998 have shown that, despite several social inclusion and empowerment measures, there are still serious inequalities in human development by social group, gender and geographic location.

In Nepal today, there is gender equality at all levels of education. The targets for SDG 5 include the elimination of wage discrimination, physical/sexual violence, and all harmful social practices, such as child marriages. Nepal expects women to fill 40 percent of all elected seats in local governments, and at least one-third of the seats in the national

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parliament. According to the National Planning Commission, in the civil service, women in public decision-making positions will have increased four-fold of total employees by 2030.

The targets for SDG 9 are to increase road density to 1.5 km per square km and paved road density to 0.25 km per square km, and to connect all districts, municipalities and village councils to the national road network. In industries, the target by 2030 is to increase the share of employment to 25 percent; within the division of manufacturing, employment is to reach 13 percent. SDG 17, on the means of implementation, expects obedience by all stakeholders, from resource mobilization and capacity development to shared responsibility and accountability. Nepal’s progress in revenue mobilization is impressive, but also vulnerable to likely swings in the large volumes of inward remittances which boost import-based taxation. The aim is to increase the share of revenue from about 22 percent today to 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030.

Domestic expenditures financed by revenue is estimated to reach 80 percent. For meeting the private sector investment financing gap, foreign direct investment (inward stock) is expected to increase to 20

percent of GDP in 2030 from less than 3 percent in 2015.

In the present Context, Nepal, has limited resources. As the country looks on implementing a new federal structure of governance, a well-known challenge will be to quickly mainstream Sustainable Development Goals into the provincial and local level planning and budgeting systems. Weak database and lack of availability of disaggregated data by gender, age, social groups, disability status, geography, income and sub-national level will hinder monitoring of progress. In addition to the rearrangement of policies, financing challenges will appear large, particularly to trigger and sustain job-

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creating economic growth, enhance the quality of social service provisioning and to invest adequately to reduce risks from disasters.

 Therefore, Nepal will need to constantly update its targets and indicators contained for achieving sustainable development goals. Many SDG goals and indicators do not yet have a proper baseline. This needs an urgent rectification, and the data that do exist need further disaggregation, particularly based on new political system. Monitoring SDGs progress within the existing institutional framework of data generation and management needs an repair. Above all, SDGs are interconnected and the achievement of one goal has a direct effect on others.

“ SDGs are not a government responsibility alone; they are a national, country-wide responsibility. Strategic partnership among the government at national and sub-national levels, non-government, private and community sectors would, therefore, be required.”

Nepali politicians and policymakers must now work with the private sector to facilitate the process of structural transformation which has traditionally required a growing share of modern services and manufacturing, away from subsistence agriculture.

In agriculture, the government’s Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) (GoN, 2014) is designed to guide the agricultural sector over the next 20 years (from 2014). This strategy includes a 10-year action plan and roadmap aiming for food sufficiency, sustainability, competitiveness, and inclusion. The strategy addresses the food and nutrition security needs of the most disadvantaged rural populations including lactating and pregnant women, disadvantaged communities, and people in disadvantaged regions.

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In health, the Nepal Health Sector Strategy (NHSS) (2015-2020) (MoHP, 2015b) guides the decisions across the sector including public and private services and partnerships with external donors. A multi-sector nutrition plan for reducing maternal and child under nutrition is under implementation.

In education, the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP) (2009-2015) (MoE, 2009) is a long-term strategic plan for achieving basic and secondary education. The SSRP is also introducing new reforms characterized by strategic interventions such as the restructuring of school education, improvements in the quality of education, and the institutionalization of performance accountability.

In gender equality, Nepal recognizes violence against women and girls as a crime and has amended acts and policies to protect women from violence, and has established mechanisms to facilitate access to justice for victims. The government is preparing a national strategy to end child marriage. A witchcraft allegation (crime and punishment) control bill is under discussion in Parliament to reduce this socially and culturally harmful practice.

For Sanitation, The government implemented the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme in urban areas (MoPHW, 2009) and then introduced a sanitation and hygiene master plan in 2011 to maintain uniformity and standards in programme approaches (GoN, 2011b). The plan particularly, focuses on instituting open defection free areas as the bottom line for all sanitation interventions, and envisages universal access to sanitation facilities in water supply and sanitation in project areas.

On climate change, Nepal has prepared and started implementing a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) for adapting to

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extreme climate events and climate inconsistency through an extensive country-driven consultative process (MoEn, 2010). Also local adaptation plans for actions (LAPA) have been formulated with the twin objectives of implementing adaptation actions, and integrating climate change into local development planning and implementation (GoN, 2011c). Nepal is the fourth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. Adaptation practices are being developed and up-scaled to counter the adverse effects. Stress tolerant varieties and resource conservation technologies are being promoted. Agro-biodiversity conservation and use is part of a regular programme while community seed banks are being promoted in nodal locations of the country

The primary responsibility for achieving the SDGs lies with the government; and the role of development partners is secondary. Exercising this responsibility requires scaling-up investment along with capacity development. A large portion of such investment needs will have to be financed from domestic resources and these resources have to be sustainable. Of the two major sources of domestic resource mobilization for the government, i.e. taxation and domestic borrowing, efforts to scale up the mobilization of both will have serious macro-economic effects. Raising more revenue from tax or non-tax measures has differentiated implications. For instance, resorting more to indirect taxation and widening the tax base or rate will mean that poor people will pay more taxes. If some SDG related targets are to be met with the provision of universally accessible and affordable goods and services, it is necessary that the tax or fee system does not obstruct the achievement of this. Similarly, excessive option to domestic borrowing might crowd out private sector investment.

Some SDG targets are less relevant for Nepal while new and additional targets would be necessary to address country specific challenges. For

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instance, in SDG 5 (gender), targets related to Chhaupadi (untouchability during menstruation) would be more important than other harmful practices specified in the global list of targets. Third, global targets set for some SDGs are insufficient; some are only proximate; they rely more on markets than on state interventions; and they may not work properly for LDCs like Nepal. Thus, Delegates need to prioritize on important goals of the SDGs when formulating any development related resolutions.

Questions a resolution must answer

What kinds of problems are faced due to lack of sustainable development?

What can be the possible solution for the current issue of misuse of resources?

What should the legislature do for the proper implementation of Plans and policies?

What can be a prominent solution for the roadblocks to sustainable development?

What are your party’s views for the formulation of plans and policies?

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Conclusion

At last you should research well so that you can represent good in the committee you should know about the following things before coming to the final session on the actual topic:

This guide has been designed to clarify certain things about the committee and our topics, and contains very basic information. For you to perform well in committee, you will have to delve into research of your own. The dais expects that you look up your country’s policies and positions extensively, and come with a thorough understanding of your stance. Also make sure you are well versed in the actions and policies of the other key players in the issues. Another important thing to remember is that having knowledge of the relevant facets of the topics will only get you so far.

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In order to succeed in committee, you have to be able to frame your arguments well, to lobby properly, and participate in drafting resolutions or other papers

Dias

-Koshish Shrestha

- Pratyusha Baral

-Anthos Khanal

Sites for further research

www.cpnuml.org

www.nepalicongress.org

www.mprfn.org

www.rppn.org

www.ucpnmaoist.org

www.ekantipur.com

www.thekathmandupost.com

www.thehimalayantimes.com

www.setopati.com

http://npc.gov.np/

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http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/

https://tesmun2075.wordpress.com/

http://mof.gov.np/en/

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