A/HRC/4/97 page 17 the Uplift of the Dalit Communities, and Indigenous Ethnic Nationalities District Coordination Committees in each of the 75 districts. Another positive measure is the inclusion in the provisions of the Government’s tenth Development plan. 64. Some legislation has been passed which, inter alia, improves gender equality in terms of property rights and criminalizes discriminatory behaviour with regard to “untouchability”. A Citizenship Act adopted in November 2006 will give citizenship to many of those living in the Terai plains and enables a Nepalese mother to pass on citizenship to her children in certain circumstances. However, the implementation of these laws has yet to be tested and many other discriminatory legal provisions which require amendment. OHCHR raised serious concerns that neither the Citizenship Act nor the Draft Interim Constitution incorporated its recommendations to amend certain discriminatory provisions. 65. Equality for Madhesis is emerging as a central issue in the peace process. The Madhesi people make up some 30-40 per cent of the population of Nepal, and see the electoral process as a critical step in addressing historical discrimination. The Citizenship Act only partially addressed their lack of citizenship. The draft Interim Constitution also creates a relative imbalance between electoral constituencies in the plains and in the hills, requiring greater voter population per seat in the Terai. 66. Towards the end of 2006, Madhesi groups organized a series of strikes to prevent the movement of Pahadis freely moving in the Terai (see also above, paragraphs 38-40). Serious communal violence between Madhesis and Pahadis broke out in the Mid-Western town of Nepalgunj in December 2006 following a strike called by the Madhesi political party, Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP). One person was killed, and there was widespread looting and destruction of Madhesi property in particular. Police failed to intervene adequately to maintain law and order, and to protect Madhesi property. The central Government acknowledged the gravity of these events, but the incidents highlighted the potential for further communal violence in the Terai region, the urgent need to strengthen the professional capacity of law enforcement authorities to maintain law and order, and to develop inter-community dialogue. 67. The process leading up to Constituent Assembly elections is likely to involve considerable public campaigning and mobilization around issues of discrimination. Addressing the growing demands for a State structure which protects the human rights of all and enables all Nepalese people to participate equally in society is a fundamental challenge of the peace process and the Constituent Assembly. Unless concerns are seriously addressed, there is a great risk of deepening social divisions and, ultimately, violence. VII. CONCLUSION 68. Since the last report to the Commission on Human Rights in February 2006, there have been considerable improvements in some aspects of the human rights situation in Nepal. The Government and CPN(M) have recognized in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that human rights are core elements to the peace process. Civil society, in its broadest sense, has framed many of its demands in human rights terms. There are expectations that the peace process will bring solutions to long-standing human rights issues, especially deeply-engrained discrimination, prejudices and abuse against marginalized groups, as well as economic disparities.