Press Release
The Right Honourable Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli delivered a public address today at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, Harvard University, Cambridge on the topic of ‘Transitional Justice to Climate Justice: Current State of Governance and Development in Nepal’. Outlining Nepal’s experiences, achievements and future priorities in two key areas, the Prime Minister called for enhanced goodwill and support from the international community as Nepal marches ahead on the path of democratic and inclusive governance with the vision of Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.
The Prime Minister highlighted the recently passed transitional justice related bill as victim-centric one, which ensures accountability, contains provisions for reparations, while offering no blanket amnesty for serious crimes.
On climate justice, the Prime Minister expressed concern over irreparable damage to the natural ecosystem and atmosphere, including in the Himalayan region. He stressed how the least developed countries, including Nepal, despite having negligible contribution to the greenhouse gas emission, are suffering disproportionately from the adverse effects of climate change and global warming. He drew attention of the international community towards lack of sufficient resources and technologies for vulnerable countries like Nepal to manage the impacts of climate change. He called for major polluters, primarily developed nations, to take proportionate responsibility by providing financial and technological support to vulnerable countries.
Prime Minister’s remark was followed by a moderated discussion in which co-moderators, Mr. Michael Puett, Director of Asia Center at the Harvard University, and Ms. Fatema Sumar, Executive Director of Harvard Center for International Development, sought further insights on Nepal’s development priorities, governance, climate action and human rights. After the discussion, an interactive question-answer session with the students was held.
The program was jointly hosted by the Laxmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute and Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
The Right Honorable Prime Minister is in the US leading a high-level Nepali delegation to the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He is scheduled to leave the US for Nepal on the 29th of September.
Embassy of Nepal,
Washington, D.C.
27 September 2024
