Who we work with

PBI - Nepal provides support -  in the form of International presence and advocacy work  -  to Nepalese human rights organizations in different districts, on their request. PBI teams currently work from offices in Kathmandu and Bardiya District, Midwest Nepal.

Advocacy Forum (AF)

PBI provides protective accompaniment to Advocacy Forum (AF) for key cases of conflict-related human rights abuses that they are filing on behalf of victims’ families. Their work throughout the country, related to torture, disappearances and extra-judicial killings, includes the investigation, filing and prosecution of cases.

PBI-Nepal began providing protective accompaniment to AF during the fourth quarter of 2006. Since then, PBI has developed a strong working relationship with AF and has accompanied Advocacy Forum staff from their head office, four regional offices and seven district offices, while filing cases on behalf of victims and victims’ groups and accompanying lawyers to detention centers. By providing international presence to AF, PBI draws attention to the importance of those who play a strategic role in protecting vulnerable groups.

Conflict Victims’ Committee (CVC)

Since February 2007, PBI-Nepal has been providing international presence to the Conflict Victims’ Committee (CVC) from Bardiya. Bardiya was one of the most conflict-affected regions and has the highest number of cases of disappearances in Nepal. CVC has over 200 members. These include victims of both the State and the Maoists who together fight for justice and against impunity. 

PBI supports their work in various ways; by providing accompaniment whilst CVC, often in conjunctioin with AF, attempt to file cases, monitoring demonstrations, attending events, dialogue with authorities and providing advocacy platforms.

Dalit Feminist Uplift Organisation (DAFUO)

In May 2009 PBI began a partnership with the Dalit Feminist Uplift Organisation (DAFUO).  DAFUO was established by Dalit women in 1997 as an independent Nepali NGO in Gulariya, Bardiya district. DAFUO works on human rights of marginalized communities, particularly focusing on women rights. Initially it was run by and for Dalit women with the goal of tackling discrimination, improving their social and economic status and increasing access to constitutional rights. It now has a mixed membership - both in terms of gender and caste. DAFUO has branch offices in Dailekh district (Mid-West region) and Baitadti district (Far Western region).

PBI Nepal accompanies DAFUO on request to support with filing of FIRs, on assessment trips to village districts and also provides advocacy them platforms as a way to raise awareness of the issues women human rights defenders face.

Devi Sunuwar

In February 2010 PBI began accompanying Devi Sunuwar, the mother of Maina Sunuwar, whose case of dissappearance and death by torture at the hands of the Nepal Army in February 2004 is one of the most emblematic cases of impunity in Nepal.  To date none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.  Devi campaigns tirelessly for truth and justice in her daughter's case, supported by Advocacy Forum and other organisations. PBI accompanies Devi periodically within Kathmandu and when she travels to her home district, as well as providing advocacy platforms.

Lawyers' Forum for Human Rights (LAFHUR)

PBI have been working with The Lawyers' Forum For Human Rights (LAFHUR) since October 2010. LAFHUR is a lawyer’s network run by volunteers and was established in 2007 as a non profit organisation. It provides legal aid to victims of human rights violations - particularly those from marginalised backgrounds who would not otherwise have access to justice. Keen to reach out to people in areas where few NGOs have been, LAFHUR have recently begun work in the remote mountainous district of Solukhumbu, with a focus on conflict-era extrajudicial killings cases.

PBI provides accompaniment to LAFHUR when dealing with authorities in Solukhumbu. PBI previously accompanied LAFHUR’s General Secretary Jitman Basnet in 2007 when he received death threats after publishing his book 258 Dark Days which documented his torture in the Nepal Army’s Bhairabnath Battalion barracks.

Madhesi Human Rights Home (Mahuri Home)

PBI has been working with Madhesi Human Rights Home (Mahuri Home) since July 2011.  Mahuri Home is a Kapilvastu-based NGO working for the protection of the human rights of the Madhesi, Dalit and Muslim communities, particularly in situations of illegal detention, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.  Mahuri Home also monitors human rights violations and works to decrease tensions between Madhesi and Pahadi communities following the 2007 Kapilvastu incidents of communal violence.  They also work in neighboring Rupandehi and Nawalparasi districts and have taken a leading role in the development of a Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance. 

PBI supports Mahuri Home’s work by providing international presence in Kapilvastu and Rupandehi districts and linking them with advocacy networks at the central and international levels. 

PBI  has working together with Fatima Foundation since the beginning of 2011. Fatima Foundation is working for the protection of Muslim and Madeshi women's and children’s human rights and towards their social justice, by conducting awareness programs on domestic violence and violence relating to dowry issues and advocating for Muslim and Madeshi women´s rights within the Muslim community. Further they also provide educational and skill development trainings to women to empower them and increase their financial independence. Their head office is based in Banke district; branch offices are located in the districts of Bardiya, Kapilvastu, Surkhet, Kailali, Bara, Parsa and Morang.