Lawyers' Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP)Nepal’s Limbu Nation Files Complaint Over IFC Cable Car Project Endangering Mukkumlung
The Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP), representing the Indigenous Peoples Organisation of the Limbu (Yakthung) Nation, has lodged a formal complaint with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) against the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) involvement in the IME Cable Car project in Nepal.
The complaint targets Project Number 607394, a $156,746 advisory services initiative funded by the IFC, raising urgent concerns about the irreversible threat posed to Mukkumlung—a sacred site of profound spiritual and cultural significance to the Limbu Peoples.
LAHURNIP is serving as legal counsel, supported by the Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) and Recourse as advisors. With power of attorney, LAHURNIP holds decision-making authority, ensuring that the voices of the affected Indigenous communities remain central throughout the complaint process.
The complainants allege that the IFC violated Indigenous rights by ignoring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The project threatens the sacred site, ancestral lands, environment, and the self-determination of the Limbu Peoples.