Even before World War I, universal, inborn, essential, indivisible and inalienable human rights had been developing with such historical incidences as the Magna Carta, the Bill of rights, the American Independence movement, the French Revolution and the Russian Bolshevik revolution. Following the massacres of World War II, the United Nations, for the cause of world peace and to protect human rights permanently, enshrined human rights in the Charter of the United Nations. Three years later, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) was issued. After the promulgation of the Declaration, the world community has taken special initiatives for the effective protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms keeping in view the fundamental values and principles of the Declaration. In this context, the Declaration has been a milestone in the area of human rights. For the purpose of implementing the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration in all the countries of the world and for making the countries accountable, separate international conventions with special emphases on human rights related to various aspects such as political, economic, social and cultural rights, children’s rights, and women’s rights have been created. As countries are responsible for ratifying the international conventions and implementing them within their boundaries, a country cannot absolve itself from the responsibility of protecting and promoting human rights and implementing its provision in totality. For this, the government or the State has to give maximum attention to not only the making of policies and laws but also has to undertake effective measures regarding their implementation. Also, the government has to undertake appropriate changes in its working style for the creation of human rights culture. The first written document in the legal history of Nepal is the National Legal Code of 1854. The National Legal Code of the time, however, gave legal protection to the prevailing ethnic/caste based attitudes and did not give due consideration to human rights. The first constitutional document in the history of the country is the Government of Nepal Constitution Act (1948). The Act, taking into account the worldwide emphasis on human rights, had made provisions for some fundamental freedoms of citizens. The Act was followed by the Act related to Organization and Assembly (1949), Press and Publications Act (1949), Act related to Individual Liberty (1950) and the Civil Rights Act (1955). All these Acts made some legal provisions related to human rights. Afterwards, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal (1959) and the Constitution of Nepal (1962) also continued with this tradition. Despite all this, the practical aspects related to human rights were not satisfactory in the country at the time. The popular Movement of 1990 is an important chapter in the history of human rights in Nepal. The movement, leading to the restoration of multiparty democracy in the country, led to the promulgation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal (1990). The constitution has come to guarantee political freedom along with other various human rights of the citizens. The constitution has provided for citizens various fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), including effective remedial measures. In addition, Nepal has shown its commitment to human rights at the national and international level by being signatory to various international conventions and optional protocols, as well as by the enactment of the Human Rights Commission Act (1997) and with the formation of the Human Rights Committee in parliament. The list of human rights related international instruments to which Nepal has been a State party following the restoration of democracy is provided in the Annex 1. The Annex also provides the date on which the instrument was ratified/acceded to by Nepal. Part 3 of the 1990 Constitution provides for fundamental

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