This report provides an overview of religious freedom conditions in Nepal by examining how the country’s criminalization of proselytism, blasphemy, and cow slaughter in the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017, violate protections for the right to freedom of religion or belief under international human rights law. The country update also examines how legal impediments outside of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017, violate the right to freedom of religion or belief. Hinduism remains influential in Nepali society and, as the country update shows, the legal impediments disproportionately impact the country’s Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim minority communities. Additionally, the report highlights the thousands of Tibetan refugees currently residing in Nepal who would be at a heightened risk of persecution if sent back to China, including violations of their right to life and their right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

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