Media is a powerful tool to disseminate information to the public and influence policy makers. But, the media itself has been kept aside from the law making process in Nepal. Media persons are not consulted while drafting the media related Bills. Some examples are Media Council Bill and Information Technology Bill, which were presented in the Parliament Secretariat without having consultation with the media persons. As a result, the Bills drew flak from the media. So, the NLPC organized a discussion programme with media personnel on 13 February 2020 in Kathmandu in collaboration with Human Rights Journalists Association (HuRJA).
The main objective of the event was to discuss with journalists, reporting on the issues of human rights and parliamentary affairs, the law making process of Nepal and to explore the role of the media in making this process more participatory. In addition, the discussion also included matters of freedom of expression and controversial provisions of proposed Media Council as well as Information Technology bills that can confine such freedom of the media groups and general public.
Altogether 36 participants took part in the programme. Though main target group of the discussion was journalists, lawyers and students also participated in and made the discussion lively and more interactive. Ms. Kalika Khadka, a journalist cum lawyer, made a detailed presentation highlighting law making process in Nepal, situation of public participation and media’s role in the law making process. Mr. Mohan Lal Acharya, a practicing lawyer, commenting on the presentation, provided some important feedback. After the presentation and commentary, the floor was opened for Q n A, where interesting questions were raised by the participants specifically the participating students.