Social protection and endangered Indigenous communities in Nepal ^{CEFR B2}

Nepal's Constitution (Article 43, 2015) guarantees the right to social protection, and the country is a signatory to international instruments that refer to social security, including ILO Convention No. 169, Article 22 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015). Despite these commitments, an estimated 20.1 million people in Nepal remain without any form of social protection.

The government runs more than 85 social security programs and provides allowances to around 3,800,000 people, about 13 percent of the population. It has committed to financial support for ten officially recognised endangered Indigenous communities: Bankariya, Hayu, Kisan, Kusbadhiya, Kusunda, Lepcha, Meche, Raji, Raute and Surel.

Fieldwork and interviews show mixed results. Santoshi Bankariya said the Endangered Community Social Security Allowance helps her family meet basic education, healthcare and other needs; each person in her community is entitled to NPR 4,000 per month (USD 27), paid through the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. A study of the Raji in Chaukune Rural Municipality, Surkhet District, found allowances helped people start small businesses, form cooperative savings groups and support cultural preservation.

However, experts warn that cash transfers alone are insufficient without investments in education, healthcare and livelihood diversification. In some cases Raute members have shifted from forest-based livelihoods and become more reliant on allowances, and allowance receipts have been linked to increased alcohol use and social problems. Barriers to effective social protection include fragmented programs, lack of comprehensive data on Indigenous enrolment, historical injustices, structural discrimination, geographic isolation, missing citizenship documents and exclusion from formal labour markets. Political instability and patronage can also disrupt programs; some villagers associate benefits with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.

Advocates call for a balanced approach: stronger local governance and federal involvement in management, targeted orientation for Indigenous groups, linking allowances to Indigenous enterprise development, accessible electronic payments with safeguards, and longer-term measures such as access to land, secure housing, residential education and fair government representation.