Report of Discrimination in Nepal: Small, landlocked, and impoverished, Nepal is home to a mosaic of ethnicities and languages. A democratic constitutional monarchy was established in 1990 after the overthrow of the three-tiered panchayat system, which prohibited political parties and was completely controlled by the king. Nepal is presently party to 14 international instruments on human rights, but a vast gap exists between these commitments and their implementation. Political instability – including corruption, turmoil in Royal family and the Maoist insurgency – has contributed significantly to the difficulty in implementing lasting human rights reform. Racial discrimination has a different face in Nepal than it does in many other parts of the world; many groups suffer from marginalisation because of caste, ethnicity, gender, age, religion and political opinion. Despite the anti-discrimination provisions contained in the 1990 Constitution, caste discrimination remains ingrained in Hindu-dominated Nepalese society. Caste discrimination constitutes a form of racism in which people are categorically relegated to subordinate social positions, and are denied equal access to social, economic, political and legal resources. Wealth and power are disproportionately distributed to favour higher castes, restricting social mobility and the possibility of intergenerational change, because caste is based on lines of descent. Cultural attitudes that perpetuate the caste system are inculcated at a young age in Nepal, and are often reinforced within the education system. Adults teach children to maintain the stratified society, and continual reinforcement of the system cement it into an unquestionable reality. Caste discrimination is frequently present in government-initiated development programmes, with many of the projects failing to benefit the lower castes. read more .... source: http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF43.htm