Nepal braces for rights scrutiny

KAMAL RAJ SIGDEL

KATHMANDU, JAN 04 -
The government has decided to send an 11-member team led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala to defend its report on the country’s human rights situation. The defence will be presented in the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Nepal at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.

On Jan. 25, Nepal’s human rights records will come under the first ever UN scrutiny at the UPR, a mechanism created by the General Assembly in 2006 to ensure that the 192 UN member states respect rights. The mechanism reviews each member every four years and its review report as well as its follow-up have implications for the respective country’s prospects of receiving international aid, among others.

The UN review in Geneva is expected to have a wider significance for Nepal given the widespread concern over the government’s failure to address human rights issues as it is transits to peace after a bloody internal war.

Nepal’s team to the UPR scheduled to leave on Jan. 21 includes Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Trilochan Upreti, Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai, Joint Secretary Dilli Raj Ghimire, representatives of the Ministries of Health, Peace and Reconstruction and Law and Justice, according to a PMO source.

Nepal will have an hour’s time to present its report to the UPR followed by shadow reports from the civil society groups in the next two hours. The government has already sent its 24-page “national report” to the UPR. While the government report is mainly focused on highlighting its achievements made so far in the human rights front, the civil society reports, in general, paint a beak picture of human rights in the country with impunity on the rise.

OHCHR Nepal, National Human Rights Commission, National Dalit Commission, National Women Commission, INSEC, Advocacy Forum and other international defenders have submitted joint and separate reports to the UPR expressing serious concern over worsening the rights situation in Nepal.



State report highlights achievements

l    Statute draft recognizes 21 fundamental rights

l    Adoption of National Human Rights Action Plan

l    Active NHRC with diverse and inclusive board

l    Separate National Dalit Commission (NDC)

l    Separate National Women’s Commission (NWC)

l    Relief to families of 14,064 who died during conflict

l    Human Rights Directorate at Nepal Army

l    A bill to criminalize torture in the offing

l    21,639 ex-bonded families rehabilitated

l    Gender friendly budget (17.3 percent to gender)

Civil society report paints beak picture 

l    Crimes under international law not criminalised

l    Constituent Assembly has failed work in time

l    New draft legislation weakens NHRC

l    Govt dumped recommendations of NHRC, NWC, NDC

l    Widespread discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity

l    Sexual and gender minorities highly discriminated

l    State fails to recognise Muslims as a religious minority

l    Unwilling to prosecute past human rights abuses

l    Systematic practice of torture

l    Ill treatment to refugees, rights unprotected

Posted on: 2011-01-05 08:17    

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2011/01/04/metro/nepal-braces-for-rights-scrutiny/216843/  

Rampant impunity abets HR violations

POST REPORT

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KATHMANDU, DEC 19 -

Amid widespread concern that Nepal is heading towards full-spectrum impunity, all three important reports submitted by the government and non-government sectors for discussions in the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) paint a bleak picture of rights situation in Nepal.

Prime Minister’s Office, Nepal NGO Coalition for UPR and the coalition of National Human Rights Commission, National Women’s Commission and National Dalits Comm-ission have submitted separate reports to the UPR. The report constitutes the basis for the UN body to scrutinise Nepal’s rights records in the past four years.

On Jan. 25, Nepal will come under the first ever UN scrutiny at the UPR, a new mechanism that monitors human rights situation in UN member states every four years. Though the government report has highlighted more its efforts and achievements than the ground realities, the reports from rights watchdogs have expressed worry about the tardy peace process and non-implementation of the laws formulated to curb rights violations.

“All three reports have underlined the culture of impunity, caste-based discrimination and slowed peace process, among others, as hurdles to human rights in Nepal,” said Renu Raj Bhandari, Chairperson of the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre, one of the organisations in Nepal NGO Coalition for UPR, at an interaction in the Capital on Thursday.

“But the government’s report speaks too less about these basic, yet, large problems, failing to portray a clear picture of human rights in Nepal,” she added. “While the report talks about the treaties the government has signed, improvements in the formation of new laws and revisions of old regulations related to human rights, it seems the government has downplayed the state of non-implementation and rising culture of impunity.”

Besides, the report submitted by Nepal NGO Coalition for UPR talks about the general issues of human rights. The report prepared by the Coalition of altogether 238 non-government human rights organisations show that human rights situation is still in the struggling phase.

Similarly, another report prepared by the coalition of NHRC, NWC and NDC mentions poor human rights situation in the nation, mainly in the Tarai region. The report focuses on marginalization and discrimination faced by certain sections including women and Dalits.

UPR is the UN mechanism formed in 2006 to ensure that all the 192 UN member states respect human rights. It reviews each member every four years and its review report has implications on the respective country’s prospects for international aid. It is the first time Nepal’s human rights situation is being reviewed by the UPR. Altogether 132 people were killed and 105 were abducted in the last 11 months, according to an INSEC report.

The report mentioned that security forces are responsible for over 24 deaths. Various Madhes-based outfits, including Tarai Mukti Morcha, Tarai Janatantrik Party, Jantantrik Tarai Madhes Mukti Party, Tarai Jantantrik Mukti Morcha, Samyukta Jantant-rik Tarai Mukti Morcha, Tarai Jantantrik Party (Madhes), Jantantrik Tarai Madhes Mukti Party-Rajan killed over 20 people mostly in the Tarai. The culprits remained unidentified in over 75 murders. Banke tops the murder list where 16 cases are registered, according to INSEC data.

The figures indicate that 12 individuals are murdered per month on average in the country.

commitment or JUST lip service?

Killings in 11 months

Tarai outfits and unidentified groups     95

UCPN (Maoist)     3

UML and Youth Force    2

Nepali Congress     1

Total     132 (24 by state)

Average rate of killing    12 per month

Posted on: 2010-12-19 08:47

http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/12/19/editors-pick/rampant-impunity-abets-hr-violations/326735/