Own previous CA’s work for timely statute, lawmakers say

admin February 22, 2014

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If the Constituent Assembly (CA) does not own the drafts completed by the previous CA, new constitution will not be written within a year, say political leaders, lawmakers and civil society members. At a programme organised by the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), a network of 43 peace and human rights organisations, Rabindra Adhikari, a UML leader and CA member, stressed the need to take possession of the past agreements made as per the required consitutional procedure. Adhikari added that new constitution must recognise human rights, including an individual’s economic, social and cultural rights. UCPN (Maoist) leader Khimlal Devkota reiterated Adhikari’s statement, adding that people do not want a constitution for the sake of having one but they want a constitution that rests power on them and ensures their rights. “The previous CA completed a lot of important drafts. If this CA does not own the past achievements, it will fail to promulgate a constitution within the deadline,” Devkota said. Nepali Congress CA member Bikram Khanal and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal CA member Laxmi Chaudhary assured the audience, comprising civil society leaders, including Shudharshan Subedi of the National Federation of the Disabled-Nepal, that they will work towards a human rights friendly constitution . They promised that they would work towards a constitution that addresses issues of not just ethnicities but also of class.