Powerful interests and a soft target

In 2023, media development in Nepal faced significant challenges, marked by increased violations of media rights, government attempts to restrict press freedom, declining trust and influence in media, economic setbacks like decreased advertising revenues and legislative efforts geared more toward ‘control’. However, there were some positive trends, including a slight increase in inclusivity and sensitivity in media structures and content, alongside collective advocacy efforts for labor rights.

Status of media rights

In 2023, a total of 58 cases of media rights violations were documented, slightly higher than the 53 incidents recorded in 2022. According to data from the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), there were 17 reported cases of attacks on journalists involving both state and non-state actors. Additionally, 25 instances of misconduct and threats toward media personnel were reported between January 1 and December 30, 2023. During the reporting period, FNJ recorded two cases of obstruction, two cases of brief detention of journalists, including the detention of Kanchanpur-based journalists Rajendra Nath and Aiswarya Kunwar, and Makawanpur-based journalist Indra Prasad Banjara. 

During the same period, FNJ recorded 11 cases of professional insecurity, including cases of labor rights exploitation of media workers and one case of gender-based violence (GBV). Notably, police officers, businesspeople, members of political parties, local government representatives, political leaders, medical professionals, owners of cooperatives and government officials, including Chief District Officer (CDO), were the main accused in these incidents.  In 2023 also, mystery continued to shroud the 2010 murder of Jamim Shah and Devi Prasad Dhital remained, pointing at the lack of serious efforts to ensure safety and security of media professionals.

Press freedom and freedom of expression

The Constitution of Nepal 2015, Article 17(2a) in particular, guarantees freedom of expression to all citizens. Article 27 ensures the right to information, allowing people to request and access information in public interest. Additionally, Article 19 protects press and publication rights, preventing pre-censorship, safeguarding communication tools, and ensuring freedom from interference. However, in 2023, there were limited advancements in relation to these legal provisions. A major example that shows Nepal’s lack of inclination to adhere to the freedom of expression is the government’s decision in mid-November to ban TikTok, citing the use of the social media platform in disrupting social harmony instead of bothering to regulate the platform. 

With regard to the right to information, most of the above-mentioned attacks on journalists happened because the latter brought to light things that government authorities, business houses or non-government actors wanted to hide. Proactive disclosure of information, which demands government institutions to share the progress of their performance every three months as per RTI Act 2007, remains an alien concept for government authorities as a brief research of homepages of government ministries and departments shows. 

The findings of the research suggest that very few government entities follow proactive disclosure practices. During the reporting period, National Information Commission (NIC) issued its verdicts on 1000-plus cases or appeals related to the right to information, most of them from businesspersons, political leaders and civil society activists, pointing that ordinary citizens either lack awareness or feel hesitant to demand information using the RTI Act. Lack of public awareness and intent hindered progressive enforcement of the RTI Act along with technical challenges.

While talking about safeguarding against pre-censorship, protecting communication equipment and ensuring freedom from interruption under Article 19, year 2023 did not remain satisfactory. Although mainstream media have enjoyed editorial independence to some extent, there is influence from media owners, advertisers and politicians. An example of clear violation of constitutional provisions on press freedom was the clarification that Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal sought from Rameshwor Thapa, Publisher of Annapurna Media Network and Chair of Simrik Air, over the news stories about poor air services in remote parts of Nepal, which were published in Annapurna Post.  

State media such as Gorkhapatra, Radio Nepal, Nepal Television and Rastriya Samachar Samiti encountered higher levels of government censorship in 2023 as well. A recent example of this was Gorkhapatra daily’s deliberate choice to place the incident, where two young individuals lost their lives during protests over the Employment Permit System (EPS) in Balkumari, Lalitpur, on Dec 29 last year, on the second page, significantly reducing its news value.

Like in 2022, the government made various efforts to curb media freedoms in 2023. For example, National Cyber Security Policy 2080 BS , which was  endorsed in August, 2023, failed to incorporate recommendations from concerned stakeholders and has few objectionable provisions. Currently, the government is planning to introduce three Bills related to the media—the Media Council Bill, National Mass Communications Bill and the Information Technology Bill. Stakeholders do not believe that these Bills have the government’s good intent attached, if lived experiences are any indication. 

Like in previous years, the role of Press Council Nepal (PCN), a media regulatory body, left much to be desired. In 2023, PCN initiated actions against 71 online media platforms, including news portals and online television channels, for violating the code of conduct, but its effectiveness in holding news media accountable remained limited. 

This is because PCN has not been able to serve as an independent watchdog and some of its activities are found to be politically motivated, allowing people to question its independence.