“Nepal has yet to implement the international standards applicable to indigenous peoples, as set out in the UNDRIP and Convention No. 169 and indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination.” foundation is an independent organization, its link with the Ministry of Local Development and its heavy reliance on the Nepal Government for money has turned it into one wing of the Nepal Government working as a bridge between the Government and the indigenous peoples. It has a mandate to implement programs for the development of indigenous peoples and also to make recommendations to the Government on measures to promote the social, economic and cultural development of indigenous groups. Enforcement of the UNDRIP In 2008, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples in Nepal concluded that, despite significant improvements, the indigenous peoples continue to confront discriminatory social and political arrangements that originated in the past, and whose current manifestations impede their effective control over their lives and undermine their cultural identities. The Special Rapporteur highlighted that indigenous peoples have suffered gradual loss of traditional lands and access to life-sustaining natural resources, and that across the country, they rank low in all human development indicators. The Special Rapporteur 78 concluded that most indigenous communities live in conditions of poverty that, on the whole, are double or even greater the national poverty level and that adequate healthcare among indigenous peoples is lacking, as are opportunities for education. Nepal  has yet to implement the international standards applicable to indigenous peoples, as set out in the UNDRIP and Convention No. 169 and indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination. The government needs to meet its obligations to indigenous peoples in line with observations and recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur. Some of the major challenges in effective implementation of ILO 169 Convention in Nepal are presented below: Dominance of Hindu High Caste:  An effective implementation of ILO Convention 169 would require revision of existing laws that contradict various provisions of the Convention. In many cases, it also demands the promulgation of new laws. But the state government overwhelmingly dominated by so-called high caste Hindu groups is not ready to change the existing laws so easily. By the peoples’ movement of 2006, the regime has changed, but the rulers have remained more or less the same. They come from the same caste, same class, same region and same sex with same feudal mentality who are not only reluctant to implement the conventions but also resist change. Rights to Self-determination and Ethnic Autonomy: Because indigenous peoples of Nepal do not trust the government to share power and implement international human rights conventions, they demand for their own rule through the transformation of state structure. Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)