Kathmandu: People from the sexual and gender minorities (SGM) have accused some organisations working for the SGM rights of violating the principles of “Conflict of Interest” and lacking transparency.

Organisations like the Blue Diamond Society, Federation (FSGMN), and Cruiseaids Nepal in particular are working on the same projects funded by the same donor agencies, and their members and staff are violating conflict of interest norms, they have claimed.

These organizations have presidents and board members who work in parallel roles, participating in decision-making processes that, de facto, control all three entities. This clearly breaches the conflict of interest principle, as they influence and execute the decisions that benefit these leaders alone.

Examining the composition of these organizations reveals a small team controlling the majority of funding and mutually supporting each other. For instance, the president of the Blue Diamond Society (BDS) is a Technical Advisor of Crusaid, the president of Crusaid is in the program team of BDS, and the director of BDS is the president of the Federation (FSGMN), so on and so forth.

This close-knit group safeguards each other and is adept at propaganda by planting stories and orchestrating meetings with donors and government representatives using misleading facts, often playing the victim card and vilifying good leaders from the community to serve their purpose. They also threaten of costing their jobs to their junior staff and staff in the district if say anything against them.

Blue Diamond Society and related organisation

Sital Pinky Gurung ( Sanjib Gurung)

President of Blue Diamond Society

Technical Advisor Cruiseaids Nepal

Treasure of FSGMN

Rubina Tamang (Rup Bahadur Tamang)

President of Cruiseaids Nepal

Staff of Blue Diamond Society

Manisha Dakal( Suben Dakal)

President of FSGMN

Executive Director of Blue Diamond Society

Samata Bam

Board Member of Blue Diamond Society

Program Coordinator of Cruiseaids Nepal

Satyendra Thakur (Sachin)

Treasure of Blue Diamond Society

Admin and Finance Officer

Padam Kumar Niraula (Prakash Niraula)

Program Manager of Blue Diamond Society

Board Member of Cruiseaids Nepal

Sudipa Gautam ( Sudip Gautam)

Board Member of Cruiseaids Nepal

Program officer of Blue Diamond Society

Bhakti Shah

Board Member of Cruiseaids Nepal

Program Officer of Blue Diamond Society

Alyn Bhandhari

Board Member of Cruiseaids Nepal

Program Officer of Blued Diamond Society

Suman Nepal

Board Member of Cruiseaids Nepal

Staff of Blue Diamond Society

Moreover, the process of selecting board members and staff in these organizations lacks transparency. Nepotism and monopoly are prevalent, leading to appointments that do not benefit community members. Transparency and avoiding conflicts of interest should be the norm in any institution, including LGBTI NGOs in Nepal, according to their claim.

However, these so-called prominent LGBTI organizations in Nepal fall short of these principles in practice. Their board members and president have largely remained the same since 2008, and their general assembly consists predominantly of compliant members who act as rubber stamps. Those who question the leadership’s conduct are often removed and silenced.

In 2023 alone, over 250 crore rupees were funneled through a few select LGBTI NGOs in Nepal. However, most of this funding was allocated to seminars, workshops, travel, hotels, and food. Only about 10-12 senior management and board members of these organizations have the opportunity to attend international conferences and meetings, while the rest of the LGBTI community, who work hard at the grassroots level, never get the chance to travel abroad.

These 10-12 individuals travel frequently—at least once a month—leaving them little time to work within the country. Even for domestic travel, senior members prefer flights, while others travel by bus.

For example, last December, a significant conference was organized in Pokhara from the 26th to the 28th, ostensibly to address serious issues like the ‘mental health of LGBTI people’, they said.

However, this event conveniently coincided with Christmas and the English New Year, misusing funds for personal gain and entertainment (a yellow-themed fashion show was part of the conference in Pokhara then).

They have also demanded answers and accountability from these NGOs and from those who support them.