The future of Nepal depends on building a peaceful, democratic state that can overcome the recent conflict and provide a stable environment for economic and social development. Yet there is little consensus about what shape reform should take. This publication from the Nepal Institute for Policy Studies, supported by Saferworld, brings together eight papers by security analysts. It explains the background to the concept of security sector reform (SSR) and looks at what SSR means for Nepal. It considers the key security challenges facing the country and how SSR programmes might address them.
SSR is associated with reforms that seek to make security sector institutions more democratic and grounded in the rule of law, while at the same time strengthening their capacity and improving their effectiveness. Nepal is emerging from a decade of violent conflict. A democratic federal republic has been established and elections have been held.
The eight chapters draw a number of conclusions:
- Security threats in Nepal are more likely to stem from internal than external factors, with the most prominent being displacement, environmental dangers and health problems.
- In Nepal’s recent history, opportunities to implement SSR have been missed. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution have not embraced SSR.
- Nepal lacks institutions to implement a national security strategy. The National Security Council has been ineffective.
- The role of the Nepal Army in providing security is currently unclear due to the impasse about how to integrate former Maoist combatants.
- The law enforcement agencies lack transparency and accountability and their impact is often uncertain.
- Democratic control of security sector institutions is weak in Nepal due to the Defence Ministry having been sidelined under the King.
- Parliament is weak and factional, and similar problems can be seen in both civil society and the media.
- The role of the international community in SSR should be to provide guidance and resources, but not itself to lead the process.
This publication maps out some key actions points:
- Programmes should be introduced to educate decision-makers about new security threats and new ways of understanding security.
- Other key security issues, such as transitional justice and the future of the Nepal Army, should be brought into wider SSR policy.
- SSR should be harmonised with other reforms to democratise the state and to boost economic and social development.
- There should be a thorough review of the security challenges facing the country, which should lead to a new national security strategy.
- The National Security Council should be re-established so that it coordinates the development of security policy.
- A solution needs to be found to the current impasse about how to integrate Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army.
- The Defence Ministry should be reformed to make it the central civilian agency managing the armed forces.
- The police and other public security actors should be professionalized to make them more effective and more democratic.
- The capacity of Parliament should be strengthened to ensure proper democratic control and oversight of the security sector.
- Training and capacity building should be provided for civil society organisations.
