Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
Nepal Special Service Bill -2076 Review
Freedom Forum made the review of the Nepal Special Service Bill introduced in the parliament-secretariat by Prime Minister and Cabinet's Office on 30th Dec 2019. The study and review of the bill revealed that the provision of 'interception' was damaging to free reporting. It would foment self-censorship among journalists; pose a serious risk to source protection and kills investigative reporting. Therefore, FF strongly recommended the federal parliament to amend the concerned provisions. FF submitted the proposed amendments and policy briefs on the Act to influential lawmakers in both the upper and lower houses of the federal parliament. The bill, registered on 30 Dec, was a matter of concern for various media institutions, editors, media-related CSO and other stakeholders as the provisions were against the right to privacy, subsequently affecting adversely the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
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