The Effectiveness of Local Peace Committees in Nepal: A study from Bardiya district

Ten years of armed conflict between the Maoists and state security forces in Nepal left 13,000 dead, 25,000 displaced and many more disappeared. In 2010 The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction formulated the Local Peace Committee (LPC) Directive to support peacebuilding at the local level. This paper explores the effectiveness, usefulness and relevance of LPCs in Nepal through information gathered from Bardiya. Its findings reveal that LPCs at the village level have been much more active and arguably more relevant than those at the district level, despite receiving fewer resources. The paper argues that better coordination is needed between LPCs at both levels if peacebuilding objectives are to be met.