Nepal Workshop Advances Judicial Officers’ Knowledge of Reproductive Health Rights Issues

The Center for Reproductive Rights recently supported and participated in a workshop organized by the National Judicial Academy (NJA), Nepal, for senior judicial officers designed to advance knowledge of reproductive health rights issues.

The June 12 event, titled “Reproductive Health Rights,” was held at NJA. A member of the International in Organization of Judicial Training, NJA serves training and research needs of judges, government attorneys, government legal officers, judicial officers, private law practitioners, and others who are directly involved in the administration of justice in Nepal. 

Led by judicial officers including Hon. Baidya Nath Upadhyay, Executive Director of NJA and former Supreme Court Justice; Supreme Court Justice Hon. Kumar Regmi; and Hon. Kedar Paudel, former judge and Deputy Executing Director of the NJA, sessions covered topics including:

• Reproductive rights as human rights.
• Nepal’s constitutional and legal obligations around reproductive rights.
• The judicial response to reproductive health rights and the role of the senior judicial officers in protecting those rights.
• A critical assessment of the challenges and paths forward to effective realization of reproductive rights in Nepal.

Closing remarks at the workshop were delivered by:

• Lal Bahadur Kunwar, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nepal, who highlighted the various aspects that encompass reproductive rights.
• Prabina Bajracharya, Advocate and Senior Manager for Asia at the Center for Reproductive Rights, who pointed out the individual, professional and institutional roles the senior judicial officers can play in advancing reproductive rights.
• Hon. Baidya Nath Upadhyay, who noted the significance of the partnership between the Center and NJA, the obligations of the State, and the role of the judiciary in realizing reproductive rights.

The Center’s Asia team engages with judges and other actors within the judicial system to enhance the respect, protection, and fulfilment of sexual and reproductive rights in the region.

View photos from the event (courtesy of NJA):