Date: July 6, 2026

Federation of Nepali Journalists "Lalitpur Declaration-2083" issued by the National Conference of Provincial Officials, Branches, Institutional and Associate Chairpersons  5 July 2026

1. Reaffirming the Federation's continuous commitment to civic supremacy, the rule of law, human rights, democracy, federalism, full press freedom, and freedom of thought and expression, we draw the government's attention to preventing any infringement upon these principles.

2. This conference declares to intensify the Federation's ongoing agitation against recent acts of information contraction, self-censorship, discrimination in government information and advertisements, physical insecurity of journalists, and the arrest and intimidation of journalists under the Electronic Transactions Act. Holding that the government's decision to discriminate in government information is against press and expression freedom, the right to information, and the spirit of the private sector and federalism, this conference strongly demands the withdrawal of such discriminatory decisions. In this context, taking the expression of Minister for Information and Communications Dr. Bikram Timilsina at the inauguration session—stating his eagerness to hold discussions with stakeholders including the Federation—as positive, this conference urges the government to appropriately address the Federation's demands within 7 days. If the demands are not addressed, this conference declares it will initiate a Singha Durbar-centric protest and take initiatives regarding an international media mission.

3. Believing that the legislature, executive, and judiciary should function independently and autonomously in accordance with the principle of separation of powers—the core soul of democracy—this conference holds that the executive has cast its shadow over the legislature and the judiciary. Therefore, it strongly demands the creation of an environment where the state functions according to the constitutional provisions of the separation of powers.

4. Expressing serious objection to anti-labor rights activities—such as media houses withholding regular salaries of working journalists under the pretext of economic crisis, forcing resignations under duress, exhibiting humiliating behavior, and even suspending them—this conference demands all media houses to provide regular salaries to working journalists and immediately pay all outstanding dues.

5. This conference demands the government to amend the Working Journalists Act to make mandatory legal provisions to enroll all media houses into the Social Security Fund, and to immediately increase the remuneration of working journalists as recommended by the Minimum Wage Fixation Committee. Honoring their long-term contribution, this conference also demands the proper arrangement of professional security by enrolling journalists working as contract, service-period contract, daily-wage, and stringers in government media into the Social Security Fund. Similarly, concluding that low wages, unstable employment, challenges in acquiring working journalists' rights, lack of social security, online violence against women journalists, and professional insecurity of local journalists have emerged as serious problems, this conference demands the full implementation of the Working Journalists Act.

6. The serious attention of this conference has been drawn toward the government's formation of a constitutional amendment task force and the advancement of the process. This conference holds the view that the constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly should be advanced through a high-level task force from a popularly elected assembly, ensuring the representation of all.

7. Demanding to expedite the formulation of new policies to make existing media-related laws time-relevant, press-friendly, and aligned with the spirit of federalism, and to fully implement the rights guaranteed by the constitution, this conference emphasizes building a consensus through intensive discussions with the Federation and other stakeholders in this process.

8. Drawing the attention of journalists and media outlets to practice accountable journalism, we demand the timely revision of the journalist code of conduct and the launch of a campaign to inspire its adherence. Expressing concern over the rising trend of code of conduct violations recently, this conference declares that the Federation will take a more active role in enforcing compliance and will be ruthless in cases of serious violations of the code of conduct.

9. This conference demands to ease the process by ending the tedious system of online registration and renewal, to waive renewal fees, and to arrange for the immediate renewal of online media registered with the Provincial Press Registrar's office.

Ram Prasad Dahal

eneral Secretary