Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP)

LAHURNIP was founded in 1995 by a group of professional Indigenous lawyers in Nepal. It was established as a pioneering organization to address the human rights challenges faced by Indigenous communities, and it has since spent nearly three decades engaging in legal advocacy, strategic litigation, and community support. Vision: LAHURNIP envisions a society where the Indigenous Peoples of Nepal fully enjoy their individual, collective, and customary rights (including the right to self-determination, control over lands, territories, and resources, and self-determined development), live with dignity and equality, and are free from all forms of colonization, discrimination, and racism. Mission: To promote, defend, and advance the rights, freedoms, and interests of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples in accordance with international, national, and customary laws, as well as human rights jurisprudence—with a strong emphasis on international frameworks like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ILO Convention No. 169. LAHURNIP carries out its work through three core strategic pillars and supporting activities: Collective Legal Empowerment: o Building community capacity, raising legal awareness, and providing legal aid to Indigenous individuals and communities. o Empowering grassroots Indigenous communities so they can lead and drive movements locally and defend their rights against threats posed by the State, business activities, or "development aggression". Policy Advocacy: o Influencing national and international policies to better protect Indigenous rights. Paths to Justice & Legal Defense: o Utilizing judicial and non-judicial avenues (such as strategic litigation) to secure justice, accountability, and the protection of Indigenous lands, natural resources, and cultural heritage. Research, Studies, and Documentation: o Undertaking evidence collection, decolonizing research, and documentation to inform policy, generate public discourse