SOUTH ASIA FORUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
3/23 SHREE DARBAR TOLE, PATAN DHOKA, LALITPUR, NEPAL
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Statement on the Occasion of the
International Human Rights Day
On this International Human Rights day, the South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) calls on the human rights community of Nepal to commit once again to uphold the principle of “accountability” and punishment of those who are guilty of violating human rights. Peace without justice is no peace. It never lasts.
We call on all to re-dedicate ourselves to defending and promoting Human Rights for all.
It is three years since the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) was signed on November 21, 2006 by al parties in Nepal. We are sorry to observe that the human rights situation in Nepal is yet to show much improvement.
According to the report of Nepal’s NHRC, which was released on the occasion of the third anniversary of the CPA, in the last three years, 107 people were killed by the Nepalese police, another 26 innocent lives were lost to the violence of the Maoists, while at least another 53 lost their lives to various bomb blasts caused by so-called militant outfits across the nation.
In addition, the NHRC recorded about, 246 cases of human rights abuses from all over Nepal during this period. Of these, 198 were committed by the government and 48 by the ex-rebels. There have been 254 complaints of disappearance as well.
This situation prevails notwithstanding the fact that both the government as well as the Maoists have pledged “untiring commitment to uphold the right to life” of all peoples. Discouraged by the failure of the government and other parties to respect, promote and protect the universal norms of Human Rights in Nepal, the Chairman of Nepal’s NHRC, Mr. Kedar Nath Upadhyay was forced to observe that the signatories to the CPA were not serious about their commitment to uphold Human Rights.
While appreciating the work of Nepalese Human Rights organisation and the NHRC, we are disheartened by the fact that these active and dedicated persons seem to have lost their ardour which was evident in their actions during the difficult days of King’s autocratic rule and emergency.
We salute the Nepalese NGOs and the NHRC for their courageous investigation and exposure of the horrible killings by the Royal Nepal Army in Doramba, the illegal incarceration, systematic torture, enforced disappearances and custodial killing of hundreds of innocent people at the Bhairavnath Battalion Military Barrack in Maharajgunj of the Royal Nepal Army, the counter violence of the Maoists in Doramba, Madhi and other places. We also thank these courageous Human Rights defenders for heir painstaking and meticulous work of evidence gathering which led to the issue of a warrant on February 10, 2008 by the District Court of Kavre. The court held that three Nepal Army officers, Major Niranjan Basnet, Colonel Bobby Khatri, Captain Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Captain Amit Pun were directly responsible for illegal arrest, torture, raped and murder of Maina Sunuwar, a 15-year-old girl in February 2004.
It is sad that all these officers of the army and the members of the CPN Maoists remain free. What is even more unfortunate that both the government of Nepal as well as the CPN Maoists are not only protecting some of these guilty persons, they have actually rewarded hem with promotions in rank and positions.
Virtually no attempts have been made by the governments that have been in power since the signing of the CPA to hold accountable those responsible for the violence, including the killings. It seems that the apprehension that insisting on human rights accountability might harm the fragile peace process has had its way. Many civil society organisations of Nepal, who were vocal on human rights accountability earlier, after the signing of the CPA got involved in building dialogues for conflict resolution, post-conflict peace building and other such activities.
While peace building initiatives are important, it should be noted the failure to enforce accountability and responsibility for the human rights violation during the conflict has stood I the path the repair relations between communities affected by the violence. This also shifted the focus from addressing the underlying causes in order to prevent repetitions of this violence in areas where there have been repeated, similar, outbreaks.
South Asia Forum for Human Rights urges the government of Nepal, the other signatories of the CPA and Nepal’s human rights community to set aside all their doubts and reservations which might have come in the way of enforcing “accountability” on the violators of human rights and punishment of the guilty.
We call on all to re-dedicate ourselves to defending and promoting Human Rights.
Human Rights are violated in dark places. Let us expose them all.
Issued By:
South Asia Forum for Human Rights
Kathmandu, Nepal
December 09, 2009
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