Nepal dealing with the past

AF-REDRESS SUBMIT KEY RECOMMENDATIONS VIS-À-VIS PROPOSED CRIMINAL CODE

2011-04-20T23:06:00.001-07:00

19 April 2010. Advocacy Forum and the Redress Trust (REDRESS) submitted today a joint summary of key recommendations in relation to the proposed bills for a new Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Sentencing Act at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Besides welcoming the government's bid to table the trio bills, both organizations raised concerns over some of the provisions that explicitly fall short of international law to which Nepal is a party and of provisions in the Interim Constitution.
“The draft criminal code has many improvements on the Muluki Ain, which we welcome. Given a country changes its key statutes like these only once in a lifetime, it would be a big missed opportunity if the shortcomings in the bills are not addressed before they become law,” AF's executive director Mandira Sharma said.

“As organisations active in protecting human rights, both Advocacy Forum and REDRESS know it is important that we ensure this legislation does not pass without protecting such Rights", Carla Ferstman of REDRESS said.

The submissions included "Summary of Key Recommendations", "Fair Trial Perspectives", "Disappearance Perspectives" and "Sexual Violence Perspectives".

http://www.advocacyforum.org/news/2011/04/af-redress-submit-key-recommendations.php

Apex court intervention sought

2011-04-20T09:23:00.001-07:00

Added At: 2011-04-19 11:39 PM Last Updated At: 2011-04-20 11:39 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
KATHMANDU: Two Maoist-victims today moved the Supreme Court demanding its order to empower police and prosecutors to continue their authority to punish criminals who had committed crimes during the decade-long Maoist conflict.

Fadindra Luitel, son of late Guru Prasad Luitel and Suman Adhikary, son of late Mukti Nath Adhikary, jointly filed a petition demanding apex court order to continue police prosecution.

Teachers Guru Prasad and Mukti Nath were murdered hineously after they refused to give the donation demanded by then CPN-Maoist cadres in 2005.

The petitioners claimed that it would be injustice to victims like them if the apex court weakens the existing mechanism by giving in to the demand of Maoist Constituent Assembly member Keshav Rai.

They said, if this happens they would lose hope of justice from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission because its formation was uncertain.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Apex+court++intervention+sought&NewsID=284690

Nepal: UN human rights official urges creation of justice and reconciliation commissions

2011-04-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

A senior United Nations human rights official today urged Nepal to quickly enact the draft laws that will establish a commission to probe enforced disappearances in the Asian country and create a mechanism to seek the truth about conflict-related abuses and facilitate national reconciliation.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 By UN News

Article Tools
Print
Discuss

Deputy Rights Commissioner Kyung-wha Kang (right) speaking to reporters on arrival in Nepal

A senior United Nations human rights official today urged Nepal to quickly enact the draft laws that will establish a commission to probe enforced disappearances in the Asian country and create a mechanism to seek the truth about conflict-related abuses and facilitate national reconciliation.

"Establishing these mechanisms in Nepal " in particular the Disappearances Commission and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission " is both necessary and urgent," said Kyung-wha Kang, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressing members of Nepal"s Constituent Assembly in the country"s capital, Kathmandu.

"The Constituent Assembly must swiftly adopt the necessary draft legislation to establish these commissions. Furthermore, to ensure that the claims of the victims are genuinely addressed, these laws must be in line with international human rights standards," she said.

Ms. Kang, however, added commissions cannot replace the regular criminal justice process, which guarantees the rule of law in society.

"It is an obligation for all States to undertake investigations and prosecutions of all cases of gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Post-conflict amnesties cannot be granted to prevent prosecution of egregious human rights violations, including through pardons or the withdrawal of criminal charges."

She voiced concern that no one has to date been held accountable for crimes committed during the conflict, noting that criminal investigations have not progressed and that some perpetrators have even been promoted, with little attention paid to redressing the grievance of the victims.

"In particular, families of the disappeared have remained in the dark about the fate of their loved ones, and to this day, continue to suffer as they await the truth " and justice. They need to be relieved of this terrible burden; seeing those responsible held to account will allow them, and all of Nepali society, to move beyond the past conflict period and build confidence in the mechanisms of the State."

Ms. Kang said the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is pleased that the Nepalese legislature is considering two important bills aimed at advancing the protection and promotion of the human rights of one of the most marginalized groups in Nepali society " the Dalit community.

"I am speaking of the bill to properly criminalize untouchability practices and the bill to create a strong, independent, and adequately resourced National Dalit Commission to focus on the defence of the rights of the community.

"Passing these three laws " following the necessary amendments to ensure their consistency with international human rights standards and best practices " is of significant importance," she added.

The Deputy High Commissioner said she was also encouraged by the decision by parliament to instruct the Government to proceed with the ratification of the Rome Statute, the legal instrument that created the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Source: UN News

http://www.speroforum.com/a/52513/Nepal-UN-human-rights-official-urges-creation-of-justice-and-reconciliation-commissions?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+speroforum%2Fnroq+%28Spero+News%29

Not a single war crime punished in Nepal, rues UN

By Sudeshna Sarkar | IANS – Tue, Apr 19, 2011 7:09 PM IST

Email
Print
Kathmandu, April 19 (IANS) Five years after Nepal's decade-old armed insurrection ended, not a single war crime has been brought to justice, a top UN official rued Tuesday.
Kyung-wha Kang, UN deputy high commissioner for human rights, who arrived here on a three-day visit Monday, said in an address to MPs that it was 'deeply troubling' that to date no one had been held accountable for crimes committed during the Maoist conflict.
'Criminal investigations have not moved forward, some perpetrators have even been promoted, and little action has been taken to address and redress the grievance of the victims,' she said.
Though victims paid tremendous physical, psychological and material price, often they were the neglected part of the equation in efforts to fight impunity. 'Sadly, this has been the case here in Nepal as well,' she said. 'There is a clear need to rectify this gap.'
Over 1,000 people remain missing still with their families in the dark about their fate.
'They need to be relieved of this terrible burden; seeing those responsible held to account will allow them, and all of Nepali society, to move beyond the past conflict period and build confidence in the mechanisms of the state,' Kyung-wha said.
The UN official is also asking Nepal to ensure that the new constitution, to be promulgated by May 28, is based on respect for human rights, the rule of law and justice and equal rights for all.
She noted that some provisions in the draft constitution do not protect basic rights, especially the gender-based discrimination vis-a-vis citizenship provisions that prevents children from receiving citizenship through their mothers.
The UN rights body is calling for a Disappearances Commission to disclose the fate of the missing and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to bring human rights abusers to justice. Both commissions must be in line with international human rights standards.
The official is also urging Nepal not to grant post-conflict amnesties, including granting pardons or withdrawing criminal charges.
The Maoists, who are now in the ruling alliance, have been demanding such amnesty time and again.
Kyung-wha also said Nepal should establish an independent witness and victim protection system.
(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)

http://in.news.yahoo.com/not-single-war-crime-punished-nepal-rues-un-133923960.html

Nepal: UN human rights official urges creation of justice and reconciliation commissions

Deputy Rights Commissioner Kyung-wha Kang (right) speaking to reporters on arrival in Nepal
19 April 2011 – A senior United Nations human rights official today urged Nepal to quickly enact the draft laws that will establish a commission to probe enforced disappearances in the Asian country and create a mechanism to seek the truth about conflict-related abuses and facilitate national reconciliation.
“Establishing these mechanisms in Nepal – in particular the Disappearances Commission and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – is both necessary and urgent,” said Kyung-wha Kang, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressing members of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly in the country’s capital, Kathmandu.

“The Constituent Assembly must swiftly adopt the necessary draft legislation to establish these commissions. Furthermore, to ensure that the claims of the victims are genuinely addressed, these laws must be in line with international human rights standards,” she said.

Ms. Kang, however, added commissions cannot replace the regular criminal justice process, which guarantees the rule of law in society.

“It is an obligation for all States to undertake investigations and prosecutions of all cases of gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Post-conflict amnesties cannot be granted to prevent prosecution of egregious human rights violations, including through pardons or the withdrawal of criminal charges.”

She voiced concern that no one has to date been held accountable for crimes committed during the conflict, noting that criminal investigations have not progressed and that some perpetrators have even been promoted, with little attention paid to redressing the grievance of the victims.

“In particular, families of the disappeared have remained in the dark about the fate of their loved ones, and to this day, continue to suffer as they await the truth – and justice. They need to be relieved of this terrible burden; seeing those responsible held to account will allow them, and all of Nepali society, to move beyond the past conflict period and build confidence in the mechanisms of the State.”

Ms. Kang said the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is pleased that the Nepalese legislature is considering two important bills aimed at advancing the protection and promotion of the human rights of one of the most marginalized groups in Nepali society – the Dalit community.

“I am speaking of the bill to properly criminalize untouchability practices and the bill to create a strong, independent, and adequately resourced National Dalit Commission to focus on the defence of the rights of the community.

“Passing these three laws – following the necessary amendments to ensure their consistency with international human rights standards and best practices – is of significant importance,” she added.

The Deputy High Commissioner said she was also encouraged by the decision by parliament to instruct the Government to proceed with the ratification of the Rome Statute, the legal instrument that created the International Criminal Court (ICC).

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38151&Cr=nepal&Cr1=

UN urges Nepal to punish war crimes, increase women's rights
Julia Zebley at 8:36 AM ET

[JURIST] UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang [official profile] spoke Tuesday to the Constituent Assembly of Nepal (CA) [official website] about several human rights issues in the country, including a reluctance to prosecute war crimes and insufficient progress increasing women's rights [texts, PDF]. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) [JURIST reports] have both previously appealed to the government of Nepal [BBC backgrounder] to investigate human rights violations allegedly committed during its civil war. Among Kang's recommendations were to establish a Disappearances Commission and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate allegations of disappearance, torture and other crimes:
Post-conflict amnesties cannot be granted to prevent prosecution of egregious human rights violations, including through pardons or the withdrawal of criminal charges. Transitional justice, and criminal justice, should work in a complementary fashion. In this regard, there are a number of cases currently pending in Nepal, for which police investigations, and judicial proceedings, should continue regardless of the fact the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms remains a priority. It is deeply troubling that to date in Nepal no-one has been held accountable for crimes committed during the conflict. Criminal investigations have not moved forward, some perpetrators have even been promoted, and little action has been taken to address and redress the grievance of the victims.
Although Kang was pleased that Nepal is considering criminalizing untouchability practices, she decried that "a number of current draft provisions do not protect basic rights, such as the right to equality. Here, I note particularly gender-based discrimination ... and inadequate respect for the rights of non-citizens." Kang and others are reportedly considering extending [Himalayan Times] the OHCHR-Nepal [official website] presence in the country for two additional years.
The decade-long Maoist guerrilla insurgency that left more than 13,000 people dead ended [JURIST report] in late 2006 when the Nepalese government signed a peace agreement that established the CA. In November, the CA announced it will finish drafting a new constitution [JURIST report] within 18 months. Last May, the CA voted to abolish the monarchy [JURIST report], giving King Gyanendera 15 days to abandon his royal palace, which cleared the way for Maoists to serve in government. As part of the peace accord, the CA was elected [JURIST report] in April 2008, an organization dominated by members of the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoists (CPN-M) [party website].

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/04/un-urges-nepal-to-punish-war-crimes-increase-womens-rights.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pitt%2FvLdl+%28JURIST+-+Paper+Chase+%5Bfull%5D%29

More power for district‚ appellate courts - Detail News

2011-04-16T04:35:00.000-07:00

The Himalayan Times - More power for district‚ appellate courts - Detail News

More power for district‚ appellate courts

Added At: 2011-04-16 12:05 AM

Last Updated At: 2011-04-16 12:06 AM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: In a bid to ensure easy access to justice, the Parliament has amended some Acts related to judicial administration, entrusting the habeas corpus writ jurisdiction

to district courts and leaving entire writ jurisdiction to appellate courts.

The amendments of the Acts published in the Nepal Gazette come into effect today.

The amended Section 16(1) of the Civil Rights Act states: “Any arrested person or detainee can file a habeas corpus writ in district or appellate court oneself or through any other person.” Earlier, the jurisdiction had been exercised by the SC and appellate courts.

The House had acted on the report of jurisdiction review commission headed by Acting CJ Khil Raj Regmi. He had recommended the government to expand the jurisdiction of lower courts to ensure easy access to justice for people against illegal detention by local authorities, including CDO and district police chief.

In a recent interview with THT, Chief Justice-designate Regmi had said he would focus on devolving the apex court authority to ensure easy access to justice.

“This new move would ease work load of the apex court,” Hemanta Rawal, assistant spokesperson, SC, told THT

As per the amendment in the Judicial Administration Act, 1991, the appellate courts have been empowered as the final arbitrator on petty cases – imprisonment up to three years, fine up to Rs 25,000, and cases related to decision on principal amount of Rs 50,000.

“Now the government must focus on how to empower the government attorneys,” said Attorney General Dr Yuba Raj Sangroula.

Groups to press for pro-women statute

Added At: 2011-04-15 11:40 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-04-16 11:40 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: About seven groups including 35 women rights NGOs are organising protest programmes to pressurise Constituent Assembly to draft a women-friendly constitution.

They plan to organise two-hour sit-in before CA demanding full-fledged rights for women from April 16 to May 30. They are also organising 12-hour sit-in from May 15 to May 28 before CA under the slogan ‘Let’s go to Kathmandu from Baisakh 1 to pressurise in drafting constitution on time’.

Dr Renu Rajbhandari, chairperson of Women Rehabilitation Centre, said CA members are not serious about welfare of the country and are fighting for political power.

She accused that the CA members are not serious about forming Truth and Reconciliation Commission and commission on disappeared people for justice.

In the absence of such commissions, human rights violators are moving freely in the society with impunity. She further accused the CA of ignoring state restructuring and economical progress of the country. Dr Rajbhandari added that the government and Maoist are not serious towards army integration and blamed the political parties of vested interests.

“The country is unable to address the problem of conflict-affected women and there is no representation of women in army integration committees,” added the chairperson.

Addressing a press conference, she added that they would continue their protest programme until the country drafts the new constitution.

Rita Thapa, coordinator of Women’s Alliance for Peace, Power, Democracy and Constituent Assembly, said the government is unable to ensure 33 per cent representation of women although government expressed its commitment.

She added that they are organising the programme to protect country against violence.

The programme is dedicated for social justice, equality, peace and proportional representation of women in every sector, added Thapa.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Groups+to+press+for+pro-women+statute&NewsID=284175

SC seeks govt response on TRC

2011-04-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

EKANTIPUR REPORT

KATHMANDU, APR 13 - The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued a show cause notice to the government and the Legislature-Parliament asking why they failed to form two important Transitional Justice (TJ) mechanisms—truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) and the commission on enforced disappearances—as stated in the Interim Constitution.

In response to a writ filed demanding an immediate formation of the two mechanisms, a single bench of SC Justice Girish Chandra Lal issued a show cause order to the government and the House, asking why they delayed in forming the mechanisms.

The writ was filed jointly on April 7 by Magna Carta Centre, Nepal Chairman Achyut Acharya and advocates Shyam Babu Kafle and Bhim Prakash Oli demanding the apex court intervention in the mechanisms' formation.

According to the writ, the bills on these mechanisms, which were registered more than a year ago, have been pending in the parliament. The government and the House have been deferring the endorsement of the bills related to TRC and disappearance commissions, which is against the spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the ongoing peace process. This is also against the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission.

The writ had named the prime minister's office and the peace and law ministries as defendants.

Posted on: 2011-04-13 09:44

http://www.ekantipur.com/2011/04/13/top-story/sc-seeks-govt-response-on-trc/332466.html

SC notice to govt on TRC

Added At: 2011-04-13 11:49 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-04-14 11:49 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court today issued show cause notice to government authorities demanding explanation on why they did not form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as required by the Interim Constitution of Nepal. A single bench of Justice Girish Chandra Lal issued the order to the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Parliamentary Secretariat asking them to submit the explanation within 15 days. Human rights activists including Achyut Acharya had filed a PIL seeking apex court order to the government authorities to form the TRC.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=SC+notice+to+govt+on+TRC+&NewsID=283893

COURT DECIDES IN FAVOUR OF TORTURE VICTIM

2011-04-13T23:11:00.001-07:00

11 April 2011. The District Court of Bardiya issued an order on 6 April, 2011, to award compensation amounting NRs 50,000/- to torture survivor Chinku Tharu and departmental action against the perpetrator involved.

Chinku Tharu, 23, a permanent resident of Deudakala VDC-9, Kakoura, Juraina village, Badia district was arrested by Area Police Post, Motipur Bansgadhi, Bardia district at around 7 pm on June 7, 2009, for allegedly stealing a copper vessel. After being held into custody Tharu was brutally tortured by Sub-Inspector Shanti Prasad Sapkota.

With legal assistance of Advocacy Forum, the Victim had filed a Torture Compensation Case (TCA) on 21 June, 2009.

http://www.advocacyforum.org/news/2011/04/court-decides-in-favour-of-torture-victim.php

Details of conflict-hit being collected | Concerns over Peace Committee berth to murder accused | Insurgency victims deprive of relief

2011-04-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Details of conflict-hit being collected

Added At: 2011-04-13 4:42 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-04-13 4:42 PM

RSS

KAWASOTI: Local peace committee in Nawalparasi has started to collect the details of the conflict-hit people during the insurgency in the district.

The details of the insurgency victims are being prepared by forming different peace committees at the local level as records of the conflict-hit people were missed in the past as well. The committees are collecting the records of the victims, displaced and abducted people including the destroyed public property during the decade long conflict.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Details+of+conflict-hit+being+collected&NewsID=283799

Concerns over Peace Committee berth to murder accused

Added At: 2011-04-11 5:04 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-04-11 5:04 PM

THT ONLINE

KATHMANDU: Accountability Watch Committee (AWC) has expressed its concern over the nomination of Devendra Poudel, one of the murder accused of teacher Muktinath Adhikari, as the coordinator of Lamjung District Peace Committee.

Adhikari, the principal of Lamjung-based Panini Sanskrit School, was brutally killed by a group of Maoists after abducting him from the school premises nine years ago.

Issuing a statement, AWC Chairman Sushil Pyakurel accused the government of backing impunity by rewarding the murder accused by picking up him at the Peace Committee a day after the victim’s family filed a case against him at the District Police Office.

Adhkari’s widow filed the case against four including Poudel, Jita, Sadhuram alias Prabhuram Ghimire of Bhorletar and Dhruba Adhikari of Kaski last week.

The AWC urged the government to look into the case and not to reward the ones accused of human rights violations.

In the case, Indira has mentioned the incident of January 16, 2002, when Muktinath was accosted by a group of Maoist cadres led by Devendra, Sadhuram and Dhruba in the class before he was taken to Duradanda and murdered.

She has also mentioned that the same group had sought donation from Muktinath during Dashain the previous year.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Concerns+over+Peace+Committee+berth+to+murder+accused&NewsID=283548

Insurgency victims deprive of relief

Added At: 2011-04-11 3:40 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-04-11 3:40 PM

RSS

BANKE: Insurgency victims of Baijapur area in Banke district have complained that they were not provided relieves from the state side yet. Altogether 19 people of Baijapur area had lost their lives during the decade long insurgency.

The victims said they were not provided with the relief amount distributed by the government for the war victims through the district peace committee.

However, chair of Banke district peace committee Saroj Pokhrel claimed that most of the deceased's families were provided with the relief amount from the state side.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Insurgency+victims+deprive+of+relief&NewsID=283538

Conflict victims summit memo to PM

2011-04-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

Added At: 2011-03-30 8:01 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-03-30 8:01 PM

RSS

KATHMANDU: A delegation of the National Society of Conflict Victims met with Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and submitted a memorandum demanding to address the problems of the conflict-hit at the earliest.

Receiving the memo, Prime Minister Khanal promised to take an initiative to address the problems faced by the conflict-hit people as soon as possible.

The memo has stressed on the enforcement of the Supreme Court (SC) verdict issued on Poush 23, 2065 BS directing the side concerned to return the property seized during the conflict along with compensation to the rightful owners within the three months of the issuance of the verdict. "No one has the right to confiscate the people's property", the memo further adds.

Talking to media after handing over the memorandum, Society Chairman Kul Bahadur Gurung, said, "The Prime Minister has taken our demands positively", and warned of knocking the Court's door again if the demands are not addressed at the earliest.

The memo also talks about the government responsibilities for the welfare of the conflict-hit people seeking the formation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, putting an end to impunity and guaranteeing of the rights of the conflict-hit.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Conflict+victims+summit+memo+to+PM&NewsID=281985

Price of conflict costing state in excess of Rs. 2.5 billion

2011-04-01T02:54:00.002-07:00

The Himalayan Times - Price of conflict costing state in excess of Rs. 2.5 billion - Detail News

Added At: 2011-03-31 6:07 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-03-31 6:07 PM

LEKHANATH PANDEY

KATHMANDU: As the saying goes, conflict comes at a cost. Nepal’s post-conflict approach to assuage the decade-long conflict-victims reflects it truly.

The state coffers have already been depleted by at least Rs. 2.5 billion just to give a nominal relief package to some of the thousands of victims of the Maoist insurgency, and the cost continues to rise.

Data prepared by the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR) showed that it has delivered an amount of Rs. 1.4 billion as relief to the kin and kith of 14,064 people who died during the rebellion. It is yet to allocate relief to the remaining 2655 people who suffered the same fate. It means that the state would have to pay at least another Rs. 265 million to the remaining victims’ families.

Relief and Rehabilitation Unit at the MoPR has set a criterion of allocating Rs. 100,000 to the family of every single person killed during the conflict. A total of 16,719 people have been reported dead in the conflict.

“We have already sent necessary relief fund of 14,064 deceased persons to District Administrative Offices concerned to provide relief to their families,” said RRB Division Chief at MoPR Ganesh Prasad Upadhaya. “The remaining will soon get the relief package.”

The relief package costs the state more than Rs. 1 billion for those affected by the conflict, including disabled, disappeared, abducted, dependents, including children and widows. Only 29,000 internally displaced persons out of 78,675 have received nominal relief and compensation from the government and have been resettled in their own place. It has already cost the state at least Rs. 340 million, and the remaining two thirds will certainly cost nearly twice the amount.

At least Rs. 100 million has been used as compensation for some 11,775 cases of physical infrastructure destroyed. Likewise, Rs. 130 million has been expended as relief to the kith and kin of 1302 people who disappeared. The amount has been mobilised through Nepal Peace Trust Fund, a donor-funded Trust to address the post-conflict relief and rehabilitation issues.

An account of the victims in different categories had been prepared by the RRU, based in MoPR, with the help of inter-governmental agencies and the relief fund has been distributed through the local channel. Upadhaya, however, said that RRU had faced the challenge of identifying the true victims of the conflict.

In addition to the relief package, a whopping 5,560 physical infrastructure had been destroyed during the conflict. Only 1,968 has been rebuilt at a cost of more than Rs. 3.7 billion from the coffers.

Nepal revises civil war death toll to 17,265+

2011-03-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

Mar 29 07:55 AM US/Eastern

Comments (0) Email to a friend Share on Facebook Tweet this

KATHMANDU, March 29 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Nepalese government said Tuesday the death toll from the country's 10-year civil war was almost 1,000 people more than the figure released two years ago.The government said the conflict has left 17,265 people dead, citing figures compiled by an official taskforce responsible for ascertaining the loss of life and property during the Communist insurgency.
In 2009, the government put the death toll at 16,278.
The conflict, which ended in 2006, has left an additional 1,302 people missing, 4,305 disabled and 78,675 displaced, according to Peace Ministry data.
Nepal's Maoists fought an armed insurgency demanding a new Constitution and an end to the monarchy.
The Constituent Assembly, elected in 2008, abolished the country's monarchy the same year, while the Maoists emerged as the country's biggest political force.
A new Constitution has yet to be written, largely because of a power struggle that led to the formation of three governments in as many years.
The Constituent Assembly is supposed to promulgate a new Constitution by May 28.

Progress in Constitution drafting work remains slow, and Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, who was elected by parliament on Feb. 3, has yet to announce a full Cabinet.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9M8SH781&show_article=1

Govt calls armed outfits for talks

Added At: 2011-03-29 11:51 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-03-30 11:51 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Amid serial blasts that gripped the Tarai in the past few days, the government today formally invited armed outfits operating mostly in Tarai districts, for talks.

The government, however, made it clear it would sit at the table only with those groups that are political in nature.

Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Barsha Man Pun said some outfits operating in the Tarai and eastern hill districts had already approached it for talks.

“The government sits for talks only with groups having political nature,” Pun said at a press conference, insisting that groups involved in criminal activities would not be spared.

Criminal acts like murder, abduction, and extortion, are the biggest security challenges in the area bordering the Tarai and eastern hill districts. Government data shows as many as 100 armed groups active there, many of them criminal.

In the last four days, four blasts were reported in various districts — Rautahat, Banke Rupandehi and Kavre — which police claim were perpetrated by armed outfits.

At least one person died and dozens of others were injured in these incidents.

Asked who was responsible for the recent blasts, Minister Pun said investigations were under way in this regard. He, however, did not give details about progress in the investigation, saying it was out of his jurisdiction.

Pun did not disclose which groups had approached the government for talks, saying the “dialogue would be kept secret until it bore fruit”.

Earlier, the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led coalition government had held talks with 22 groups and had forged at least two dozen agreements with them, according to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR)

During the press meet, he presented details of people who were killed, abducted, disappeared and displaced during the decade-long armed rebellion and the figures of those who did not get relief package from the state.

According to the MoPR report, family members of 1,444 out of 17,265 people who died during the conflict were yet to get relief from the state. The report says the state would provide relief to family members of 2,283 conflict victims in the running fiscal. Among the 78,675 displaced persons, almost two third, 50,675 are yet to be resettled in their own homes, according to the report.

Pun also presented a whopping figure of 5,560 physical infrastructure destroyed by the conflict. Only 1,968 have been reconstructed at a cost of more than 3.7 billion rupees from the state coffers. Around 981 police posts destroyed during the rebellion were constructed with the Nepal Peace Trust Fund. He informed that the stalled process of distributing allowance to Maoist PLA combatants had resumed.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Govt+calls+armed+outfits+for+talks&NewsID=281892

Cases of Grave Human Rights Violations to be Filed

2011-03-22T03:10:00.000-07:00

Kapilbastu/March 18

A joint meeting of Human Rights activists and media persons has decided to file charges against the culprits of grave human rights violations committed during the armed conflict. The meeting decided to make those involved in such incidents from state, Maoists and retaliatory groups accountable and bring them to justice.

The meeting participated by representatives of INSEC Advocacy Forum, Nepal Bar Association, Network of Women Human Rights Defenders, and the Conflict Victim's Society for Justice and Federation of Nepali Journalist agreed on the decision on March 16. They have decided to file representative incidents of grave incidents of human rights violations.

The organizations expressed commitment to provide help from their sides until the cases were decided. According to the agreement, INSEC will help in information collection, the FNJ will raise the case while Advocacy Forum and Bar will help in filing the cases and offer legal support.

The meeting has made preparations to raise incidents of persons burnt alive by retaliatory groups, killings by state and Maoists, enforced disappearances, torture and persons permanently disabled as per the agreement of the victim's families.

The organizations took the step to help the victims get justice as formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission mentioned in the Comprehensive Peace Accord to investigate incidents of grave human rights violations has not materialized yet.

Nandaram Paudel

http://www.inseconline.org/index.php?type=news&id=7819&lang=en

The Himalayan Times - Seminar calls for end to armed violence - Detail News

2011-03-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Seminar calls for end to armed violence

Added At: 2011-03-16 11:57 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-03-17 11:57 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: A seminar focusing on inter-regional cooperation and armed violence prevention policies began today in Kathmandu.

Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Barshaman Pun said that armed conflict had bogged down the prosperity of the country and remained one of the most detrimental problems of the region.

“Armed violence has tremendous socio-economic consequences. Violence substantially affects the annual growth of an average economy for many years,” Pun said in the inaugural session of a three-day regional seminar for South and Southeast Asia.

“Armed violence and development are linked. On the one hand armed violence hinders socio-economic development, on the other lack of development opportunities, social injustice among others are some of the powerful drivers leading to armed conflict,” Pun added.

He pointed out that greater awareness, development strategies and implementation of existing international and regional conventions are some of the measures that can help prevent armed violence.

Expressing the government’s commitment to reduce armed violence, Pun informed that the landmines from the time of conflict are being removed. According to him, 52,600 explosive devices have been collected and 31 out of 43 landmines have been removed and defused from all over the country.

Swiss ambassador to Nepal, Thomas Gas, said that leading a life without the fear of armed violence is the precondition of human rights.

The seminar has been attended by representatives from 17 countries of South and Southeast Asia region, including an official delegation from Nepal, as well as the United Nations, the SAARC, the ASEAN, and civil society organisations.

It was organised by the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, together with the Government of Nepal and financially supported by the Government of Switzerland.

The Himalayan Times - Seminar calls for end to armed violence - Detail News

The Himalayan Times - Action plan to help conflict hit children - Detail News

2011-03-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Action plan to help conflict hit children

Added At: 2011-03-16 11:53 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-03-17 11:53 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction today formally launched an action plan to rehabilitate children affected by insurgency.

Sadhu Ram Sapkota, joint secretary at MoPR, said the plan is not limited to child combatants but all children who have been affected by the conflict.

The plan is based on the Interim Constitution and Comprehensive Peace Accord that calls for an end to violations against children, including recruitment of persons under the age of 18.

According to National Human Rights Commission Report, more than 500 children lost their lives, around 40,000 displaced, and more than 8,000 orphaned or separated from their families in the course of armed conflict since February 1996.

The plan has been developed in collaboration with national and international NGOs, in agreement with international standards, including the Paris Principles which provide specific guidelines on disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of children associated with armed groups.

The ministry is also working to collect the statistics of children affected by the conflict and is providing community-based reintegration programme.

The Himalayan Times - Action plan to help conflict hit children - Detail News

Enforced disappearance and torture of Jit Man Basnet from February to October 2004

2011-02-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

: Jit Man Basnet

The case

In February 2011, TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the enforced disappearance and torture of Jit Man Basnet in February 2004. In this case, TRIAL also represents the victim’s cousin, Top Bahadur Basnet.

Jit Man Basnet is a journalist and a lawyer in Kathmandu. On 4 February 2004, he was arrested by security forces and brought to a detention camp known as Bairabnath Battalion barracks.

During this time period (2003-2004) the Bhairabnath Battalion Barracks run by the Royal Nepali Army (RNA) became notorious. In May 2006, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report after an investigation of the Maharajgunj RNA barracks in Kathmandu. The Bhairabnath Battalion, quartered at these barracks, played the primary role in the arrest, illegal detention, torture, extrajudicial killing and disappearance of hundreds of people suspected of affiliation with the Maoists, in 2003 and thereafter.

During the first three days of detention Jit Man Basnet was extensively tortured and beaten. There was no fixed routine, the soldiers would come for him at any time of night or day. Beyond the physical pain inflicted by the severe beatings, not knowing when they would come again provoked an ongoing mental distress. The guard accused him having contacts with the Maoists, when he explained he had no information about Maoists, the torture would only get worse. The detention conditions were inhuman. During 258 days Jit Man Basnet was continuously blindfolded and handcuffed.

On 18 October 2004, Jit Man Basnet was finally released. He was strictly forbidden to reveal the existence of the barracks and was forced to sign a paper stating that he was kept in detention for only 90 days, in accordance with state of emergency laws.

More than seven years have passed and, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been carried out by Nepal authorities and no one has been prosecuted, judged and sanctioned for the enforce disappearance and torture of Jit Man Basnet, thus fostering an ongoing climate of impunity

In February 2011, TRIAL thus submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee asking it:

to recognise that Nepal violated numerous articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights subsequently to Jit Man Basnet’s enforced disappearance and torture;

to strongly recommend that Nepal initiate immediate investigations into the role of the soldiers attached to the Bhairabnath Battalion stationed at the Maharajgunj Barracks in the period concerned and prosecute those responsible for the arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance and torture of Jit Man Basnet;

to urge the State party to immediately suspend from office all army officials against whom there is prima facie evidence that they were involved in the Jit Man Basnet’s enforced disappearance and torture;

to declare that Nepal also violated the Covenant with regard to the suffering undergone by Jit Man Basnet’s cousin, Top Bahadur Basnet; and therefore require that Nepal grant him full and adequate reparation;

to require that Nepal offers integral, prompt, just and adequate reparation for the enforced disappearance and torture suffered by Jit Man Basnet.

General context

In February 1996 the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) overtly declared war against the official governmental authorities of Nepal, which at the time was ruled in the form of a constitutional monarchy.

The conflict rapidly spread all over the country. In 2001, when violence truly escalated into a civil war, a state of emergency was declared. The state of emergency allowed the State to increase its repression against persons who were suspected of helping the Maoist insurgents and to derogate from fundamental rights and liberties. The recourse to enforced disappearances, torture, summary executions and arbitrary detentions by State agents and Maoists was generalized during this period. Arbitrary detention and torture were used years after the end of the state of emergency against all those suspected of affiliation with the Maoists. It is within this context that Jit Man Basnet was detained and disappeared for over 8 months.

http://www.trial-ch.org/en/activities/litigation/the-advocacy-center-trial-act/acts-cases/nepal/basnet-case-february-2011.html

CA panel asks ministry to release Guthi report

2011-02-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

EKANTIPUR REPORT

KATHMANDU, JAN 29 - The Commission on Natural Resources, Financial Rights and Revenue Sharing (CNRFRRS) of the Constituent Assembly on Friday directed the Ministry of Land Reforms (MoLR) to release the report of the High-level Commission on Scientific Land Reform (HLCSLR).
A meeting of the panel members, MoLR representatives and land rights activists on Friday came up with two other decisions related to land. The panel directed MoLR to present a study report on the relevance of Guthi land within 15 days. It also decided to visit eight districts including Sindhupalchowk, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Palpa and Dang to study the land distribution patterns there and plan suitable measures for land reform in those districts.
“We asked MoLR to do a study on Guthi land amid growing complaints that many farmers are deprived of land ownership due to dominance of Guthi sansthans in many districts,” said CNRFRRS chairperson Santa Chaudhary. “Besides, we asked MoLD to immediately release the report of the land reform commission.”
The government had formed HLCSLR in 2008 with a view to managing land ownership and access. Though the commission submitted the report to the government on May 5 last year, the latter has not made the report public yet. Among other things, the report has recommended joint ownership (of both spouses) of land and distribution of land to freed Kamaiyas, Haliyas and other marginalised communities.
Human rights bodies including Informal Sector Service Centre and Community Self Reliance Centre had filed complaints at CNRFRRS and the Office of the Council of Ministers on Dec 24 last year demanding the immediate release of the report. Issuing a 35-day ultimatum to the government, the rights bodies had warned that they would release the report on their own if the government failed to do so.
Posted on: 2011-01-29 11:57

http://www.ekantipur.com/2011/01/29/top-story/ca-panel-asks-ministry-to-release-guthi-report/328836.html

For more
http://www.csrcnepal.org/index.htm

PLA integration: Not against PLA integration: Army

2011-02-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

Says it will abide by any decision taken by parties

POST REPORT

KATHMANDU, JAN 28 -
The Nepal Army (NA) has said it is not against the integration of former Maoist fighters into the national army, adding that the Army has conveyed its willingness to abide by any decision taken by the parties for concluding the peace process.

The NA position, expressed during a press conference on Friday, comes at a time when the three major political parties are holding serious negotiations that will last some days on the integration and rehabilitation modality of over 19,000 PLA combatants. This is the first policy statement in regard to the integration made by NA after the departure of UNMIN on Jan. 15.

During his meeting with UN Under-Secretary General of Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe last year, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Chhatra Man Singh Gurung had said NA was ready to accept the integration of combatants so long as the entries were on an individual basis. Opposing bulk integration of combatants, Gen. Gurung had then stated that the time-honoured “honesty, impartiality and organisational integrity” of NA could be compromised by “politically motivated individuals.”

“We don’t have an independent position on the issue of integration. The Nepal Army, as common citizens, desires peace in the country. So, we will always stand for anything to resolve the issue,” said NA Spokesman Ramindra Chhetri at the press conference organised by the Army Headquarters. He said the handover of Maoist combatants to the prime minister-headed Special Committee was an important step in the integration process.

When asked to offer NA’s position on the standards that should be considered while determining modality, Gen. Chhetri said the NA won’t take any stand that might evince that it is trying to influence the authorised institutions. He said the Army is committed to the provisions of the Interim Constitution, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Agreement on Management of the Arms and Armies (AMMAA) and other documents signed by the parties during the peace process.

“These legitimate documents themselves have defined the benchmark of the integration process,” he said. “We want to let the Special Committee and its secretariat to take a call on this issue.”

Gen. Chhetri said the concept of bulk integration was beyond the scope of the Interim Constitution and the peace agreements.

He said a “consensus model” determined by the parties would be the basis to conclude the peace process.

Commenting on the democratisation of NA, as committed in the CPA and the Interim Constitution, Gen. Chhetri said it will support the Action Plan on Democratisation of Nepal Army proposed by the cabinet committee headed by Defence Minister Bidhya Bhandari. The plan, now under discussion at the State Affairs Committee of the Parliament, proposes a three-year programme for the democratisation of the Army.

The plan covers eight areas including civilian supremacy, government control, organisational restructuring, enhancing civil military relationship, amendment in law, transparency and accountability, promotion of human rights, coordination between Ministry of Defence and the Army and inclusiveness. “The Nepal Army is one of the most inclusive institutions of the country,” he claimed, adding that the recruitment process is voluntary and recently 45 percent of the total vacancies were reserved for Madhesis, Dalits, women, Janajatis and other minority groups.

Army officers in barracks, not jailed NA’s legal department Head Maj. Gen. B A Kumar Sharma said nine officers currently facing court martial for their alleged involvement in political lobbying are being held in the Army barracks and not jailed. He said they have been kept there for security reasons and are allowed to meet relatives.

A Summary Military Court has been formed to look into the charges against Brig. Gen. Kiran Barjracharya and eight other officers who allegedly lobbied against the term extension of Maj. Gen. Naresh Basnyat. Sharma said the punishment for the offence could vary from a warning to seven years imprisonment.

Posted on: 2011-01-29 08:17

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2011/01/28/top-story/pla-integration-not-against-pla-integration-army/217768.html

Baglung is landmine free

2011-02-02T03:34:00.000-08:00

BABURAM KHAREL

BAGLUNG, JAN 28 -
Nepal Army (NA) on Friday declared Baglung a landmine free district with the clearance of Bhimgitthe-based land mines that were laid around the NA barracks during the decade-long internal conflict.

Now, the total number of minefields cleared so far has reached 38 with 15 more minefields in different districts across the country left to be cleared, NA said. The Army had laid thousands of landmines at 53 different places during the insurgency. Working for the last one-and-a-half month, NA’s specialised bomb de-mining platoon in coordination with UN Mine Action Team (UNMAT) and the British government cleared the Bhimgitthe-based minefield that was laid on the land of local inhabitants. British Ambassador to Nepal John Tucknott on Friday handed over the certificates of the cleared land to the respective owners amid a function attended by representatives from the Danish Embassy, UNMAT, Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, NA, local inhabitants and local administration. The land owners, who were living under constant threat from landmines, can now utilise their land without fear. Tucknott described the clearance of minefield as a token that peace had returned to the country. “There is no need of landmines anymore in the country,” Tucknott said, urging the government to sign on the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

As per the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies signed in 2006, the Nepal Army Mine Action Coordination Centre (NAMACC) along with UNMAT and other donor agencies has been conducting de-mining activities since 2007. NA officials said that the four specialised platoons under NAMACC will clear all remaining minefields at the earliest. Many people have been killed and scores injured in landmine blasts in the country.

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2011/01/28/top-story/baglung-is-landmine-free/217769.html

War victims boycott felicitation function

2011-02-02T03:22:00.000-08:00

Added At: 2011-01-31 12:03 AM

Last Updated At: 2011-01-31 12:03 AM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

MYGDI: The families of those people, who died in this district at the hand of the state’s security forces or the Maoists during the decade-long insurgency, refused to attend a programme scheduled today to mark the Martyrs’ Day to protest the state’s apathy towards their plight.

According to Durga Prasad Acharya, secretary of the Network for the War Victims’ Rights, the war victims boycotted the Local Peace Committee’s felicitation programme as it is futile to receive the honour at the expense of self-respect.

The government’s responsibility does not end by distributing Rs 1 lakh to each family of the victim, Acharya said, demanding that livelihoods of the victimised families be guaranteed.

He lambasted the local

administration for not providing scholarships to the martyrs’ children in local schools despite government’s directives.

“We lost our guardians during the war,” KP Adhikari, a war victim, said, termed the government’s act of offering shawls to the victimised family members insensitive.

The training session started at 1 pm. Rudra Kisan, a secretariat member of the peace committee, informed that they had to cancel the felicitation following strong criticism and pressure from the victims.

While a former coordinator of the committee, Netra Mahat, said the felicitation programme was cancelled after some victims said they will not attend such a programme unless the guilty are brought to justice.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=War+victims+boycott++felicitation+function&NewsID=274683

KMC to build Martyrs' Park

2011-02-02T03:15:00.000-08:00

Added At: 2011-01-31 11:04 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-01-31 11:04 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Metropolitan City is planning to construct a park, Shahid Batika, on a ropani of land near Maitighar (next to Department of Urban Development and Building construction ) to commemorate martyrs.

The 101-member committee, formed to celebrate Martyrs’ Day decided to construct the park to commemorate their historic contribution to the country and its people.

Member Secretary Dhanapati Sapkota said the decision was made while remembering national heroes who sacrificed their lives for democracy and the people. “The park will be completed within a year and will be open to the public,” he added.

A weeklong programme had been organised to honour the four martyrs—Sukraraj Shastri, Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Ganga Lal Shrestha and Dasharath Chand, who were killed by the erstwhile Rana rulers.

At the concluding event of the programme today, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, ministers, government secretaries and heads of constitutional bodies honoured all the martyrs known and unknown at a memorial in Lainchaur, while the military offered guard of honour to the martyrs. They also garlanded the statue of Dharma Bhakta at Shifal.

Earlier this week, the committee headed by CA member and coordinator of the committee Dhyan Gobinda Ranjit had paid tribute at Tekupachali where Shastri was hanged on a tree; and Shova Bhagawati, where Shrestha and Chand had been shot dead.

Following the declaration of Republic Nepal, Martyrs’ Day programme is not observed at Shahid Gate, as it has the statues of the martrys, along with the statue of late King Tribhuvan Shah.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=KMC+to+build+Martyrs'+Park+&NewsID=274657

Nepal: Disappeared to be listed on billboard

2011-01-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

Translated from Nepal Samacharpatra (accessed 30 Jan 2011)

In an attempt to bring conformity to number of disappeared, the Local Peace Committee of Kaski district in western Nepal has decided to list the names of such people from the district in billboards in all four of its constituencies. The committee coordinator informed that eighteen people have disappeared from the district but indicated the need for more investigation to confirm the number.

The decade-long Maoist insurgency of Nepal resulted in at least a thousand individuals not accounted so far; however, lack of an official investigation has meant that the exact numbers of disappeared is disputed. The 2006 peace accord provides for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to look into cases of disappeared people but it is yet to form.

Nepal's government has formed local peace committees to carry out peacebuilding activities in districts, including identification of victims, recommendation for their healing efforts and monitoring the implementation, reconstruction of infrastructures destroyed and support to conflict resolution, among others.

बेपत्ता नागरिकको नाम होर्डिङ बोर्डमा

नेपाल समाचारपत्र, (कास्की), द्वन्द्वको समयमा बेपत्ता पारिएका नागरिकको नाम होर्डिङ बोर्डमा टाँसिने भएको छ। लामो समयको वार्ता र छलफलपछि गत पुसमा कास्कीमा गठन भएको शान्ति समितिले द्वन्द्वको समयमा बेपत्ता पारिएका नागरिकको नाम होर्डिङ बोर्डमा टाँस्ने निर्णय गरेको हो।

शान्ति समिति गठनपछि बसेको बैठकले गरेका निर्णय मंगलबार सार्वजनिक गर्दै समितिका संयोजक रामजी बरालले आगामी फागुन १५ सम्ममा होर्डिङ बोर्ड बनाएर कास्कीका चार वटै क्षेत्रमा बेपत्ता नागरिकको नाम राखिने जानकारी दिनुभयो। बरालका अनुसार कास्कीमा द्वन्द्वको समयमा १८ जना बेपत्ता भएका छन्। द्वन्द्वपीडितहरुको समस्यालाई उजागर गरी त्यसको निराकण गर्नका लागि कास्कीका चार वटै निर्वाचन क्षेत्रमा अन्तरकि्रया कार्यक्रम पनि गर्ने भएको छ।

समितिले जनआन्दोलनमा घाइते नेत्रपाणी सुवेदीको शारीरिक अवस्था दयनीय भएकोले उहाँको उपचारको लागि शान्ति तथा पुनःनिमार्ण मन्त्रालयमा सिफारिस गर्ने निर्णय पनि गरेको छ। समितिका संयोजक बरालका अनुसार द्वन्द्व निवारण र शान्ति निर्माण सहयोग कार्यक्रम ०६७/०६८ बजेट माग गर्ने प्रस्तावना बनाई मन्त्रालयमा पेस गर्ने भएको छ।

समितिको कार्यसम्पादन गर्नको लागि ९ सदस्यीय सचिवालय समिति पनि गठन गरेको छ। द्वन्द्वका घाउमा मलमपट्टी लगाउने भूमिका खेल्न समिति गठन भएको छ -संयोजक बरालले भन्नुभयो- द्वन्द्वको समयमा क्षति भएका भौतिक संरचनाको पुनःनिमार्णको साथै वास्तविक द्वन्द्वपीडितको पहिचान गरी राहतको लागि पहल गर्नेछ। बरालका अनुसार द्वन्द्वपीडितलाई राहत उपलब्ध भए/नभएको अनुगमन गर्न पुनःनिर्माणका कामहरुको अनुगमन गर्नुका साथै द्वन्द्व निवारण र शान्ति निर्माणमा प्रत्यक्ष सहयोग पुग्ने कार्यक्रम गर्न समिति क्रियाशील रहनेछ।

द्वन्द्वपीडितको तथ्याड्ढ स्पष्ट नभएको भन्दै बरालले तथ्याड्ढलाई एकरुपता ल्याउन अनुसन्धान गर्नुपर्ने बताउनुभयो। बरालका अनुसार समितिको लागि शान्ति मन्त्रालयमार्फत वार्षिक ७ लाख बजेट निकास हुने र तीन जना कर्मचारीको खर्च पनि राज्यले नै व्यवस्था गरेको छ।

http://www.newsofnepal.com/detailnews.php?type=samachaar&cat=15&id=52496

Is Nepal's Peace Process Destined to Fail?

2011-01-27T05:38:00.000-08:00

By Deepak Adhikari / Kathmandu Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2044413,00.html#ixzz1CF6gP7yn

Maoist combatants march during an event for handing their command over to the government at the Shaktikhor Maoist cantonment in Chitwan, Nepal, on Jan. 22, 2011

Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP Photo

0digg

Late in the afternoon on Jan. 22, a nondescript area in the Southern plains of Nepal got a rare moment in the international spotlight. In a carefully choreographed ceremony that was broadcast live across the nation, Nepal's caretaker prime minister Madhab Kumar Nepal and Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, jointly released balloons into the sky. The prime minister hoisted the triangular national flag over one of the Himalayan nations' seven Maoist camps, and took down the former insurgents' red flag bearing two AK-47s crossed over Mt. Everest.

And so a new chapter in the history of Nepal was begun. Or was it? Last Saturday marked the handover ceremony of former Maoist combatants from the hands of the United Nations to a multi-party special committee formed to decide their fate. Announcing the handover in a written speech, an unusually somber-looking Prachanda relinquished Maoist control of its 19,000 former fighters, a prized asset for the party that fought a decade-long war with state security forces. "Until now, you belonged to the Maoist party," said Maoist party chairman Dahal to the gathered crowd of soldiers. "But now on, you are under the government control."(See pictures of Nepal's uneasy peace.)

The weekend handover follows the departure of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), created in 2007 a year after Nepal's Maoists and seven parliamentary parties signed a landmark agreement to end the nation's long-simmering conflict. UNMIN had a temporary mandate to monitor and supervise the Maoist fighters and their weapons — as well as those of the Nepalese army — to protect against another escalation into war. But it was only in the last moments before UNMIN's disbanding that Prachanda, who stepped down as head of government on May 4, 2009 but still commands the loyalty of the Maoist troops, agreed with the current government to transfer the control of the fighters to the special committee.

Prachanda's hesitancy reflected a widespread anxiety about the possible vacuum the international body's exit might create. Indeed, UNMIN's chief Karin Landgren, in her last report to the UN Security Council on Jan.5, had warned of "a real risk that the failure of the peace will become a self-fulfilling prophecy." In her report, she cited the fears among Nepalese about three possible scenarios: the prospects of a Maoist 'people's revolt' which the former rebels often raise to prove that they still stick to their revolutionary zeal; the likelihood of the president, who is the head of the state with ceremonial roles, stepping in should the parties fail to resolve the crisis; or an army backed coup, which has been widely speculated about in the local media. The report drew strong criticism from the ruling coalition, with the president clarifying that he did not harbor any such intentions.

After the ceremony, away from the Maoist cantonments, the political bickering immediately resumed in Kathmandu, with parties seemingly as polarized as ever. After 16 attempts to elect a prime minister in parliament have failed, the country is now run by a caretaker government. Ram Chandra Paudel of the centrist Nepali Congress party, the lone candidate for the prime minister, withdrew from the election on Jan. 12 after the Maoists and the communist party warned they would vote against him. Paudel's party said the withdrawal was intended instead to pave a way for fresh elections.

Nepal, sandwiched between China and India, has historically acted as a buffer between the Asian giants — a factor often cited as the reason behind the nation's ongoing political deadlock. Maoist leader Chandra Prakash Gajurel, who spent years in an Indian jail when his party waged war, attributes the current impasse to the southern neighbor. "A section of Indian establishment holds that countries like Nepal are not only under its sphere of influence but it also has a right to interfere in their internal affairs," he says.

While the nation's leaders jostle for position, the pledges made at the end of the conflict in 2006 — an inclusive constitution, federal and democratic state, independent judiciary, and reform in the army, among others — remain unfulfilled. The most pressing issue remains the integration and rehabilitation of the former Maoist fighters into the national army. The Maoists say they should be integrated into the country's security forces in groups, resisting alternative approaches, but other parties have accused the former rebels of stalling in order to retain the former combatants while they bargain for power.

Meanwhile, a May 28 deadline slated for the ratification of the new constitution looms large. "The remaining four months seem insufficient for the constitution to be drafted and approved by a two third majority," says Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak. Maoists have proposed the constitution institute a federal state of 14 provinces based on various ethnic communities, a model they say will correct the historical discrimination against minorities by the central government. But other parties warn that such a structure might lead to the Balkanization of the country, with dozens of ethnic groups and about hundred different languages. "If we can't agree on the federal structure of the state, we should agree on its basic framework and buy time to forge consensus," says Lekhak.

Political analyst CK Lal has a more dour prognosis. A failure of the much-anticipated peace process, according to him, could again intensify the violence and ultimately lead to another war of independence. "If Maoists would launch such a war, then the outcome will likely be that of Pol Pot's Cambodia. If the right wing groups start it, the result will be like Taliban's Afghanistan," he says. "Whatever the outcome, it will be disastrous."

Debate on Nepali Army reform

2011-01-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

Experts against using term 'democratisation'

Added At: 2011-01-27 12:19 AM

Last Updated At: 2011-01-27 12:19 AM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Security experts have taken exception to the use of the term ‘democratisation of the Nepali Army’, which figures in the Interim Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Accord, among others, arguing that such term is not suitable for an apolitical organisation. They said such a term will hinder NA’s reforms.

The experts, commenting on the draft paper of the Comprehensive Work-plan on Nepali Army’s Democratisation, after its presentation at a seminar of Nepal Institute for Policy Studies here today, reasoned it will be better to use the term ‘modernisation or restructuring’.

The work-plan, prepared by inter-minister committee under the Minister for Defence, is currently under consideration at the Cabinet’s State Affairs Committee for approval. “I had never heard or read words like ‘democratisation of army’ before. Army is itself a non-democratic institution, such a word may mislead the objective of Nepali Army’s reform,” said Dr Deepak Prakash Bhatta, who wrote his PhD dissertation on the NA, adding, “It would be more correct to use words like reform, modernisation, or restructuring of the Nepal Army in the draft.”

Senior Advocate Vishwo Kanta Mainali, advocates Kumar Regmi, Rudra Sharma, ex-army officials Kesher Bahadur Bhandari, Deepak Gurung, CA member Gopal Singh Bohara shared the same view.

By using the term democratisation in reference to army’s reform, there would be the danger of political leadership’s influence and interference within the army, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Balananda Sharma warned. “Professionalisation of Army would be a correct term,” suggested Sharma, coordinator at the Secretariat of Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of PLA Combatants.

However, Dr Paul Jackson, Professor at the University of Birmingham, UK, stated the term of ‘democratisation of army’ should be considered as legal control over its functioning, civilian oversight upon it and inclusiveness within every aspect of the army.

Defence Secretary Nabin Ghimire, who had presented the work-plan draft at the seminar, argued that the term democratisation was not put to mean political influence or to break army’s institutional discipline, but rather to make the organisation more efficient, transparent and responsible.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal expressed hope the suggestions made at the seminar will be helpful in making the work-plan more comprehensive.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Debate+on+Nepali+Army+reform&NewsID=274542

For more http://nipsnepal.org/

Rights groups cry foul as Nepal denies torture at UN

2011-01-26T01:30:00.001-08:00

2011-01-26 13:40:00

Restore My Dignity

Ads by Google

M, and D Christianity, Judaism, Hindu, Musli www.restoremydignity.com

Kathmandu, Jan 26 (IANS) As Nepal underwent the first periodic review of its human rights situation at the UN in Geneva, rights groups have said that security forces continue to practise 'systematic torture' even four years after the end of a decade of communist insurrection that saw torture and extrajudicial killings.

The Nepal NGO Coalition for the Universal Periodic Review, an alliance representing 235 human rights and civil society organisations in Nepal, said in a statement Wednesday that it was troubled by the response of the government delegation in Geneva which claimed there was no systematic torture in Nepal in spite of 'well documented and credible reports of systematic practices of torture at the hands of state security forces'.

On Tuesday, Nepal faced its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process which involves the review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every four years under the UN Human Rights Council.

During the three-hour session in Geneva, Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sujata Koirala, took the lead in presenting the national report and responding to questions and concerns raised by nearly 60 other states.

While lauding the fact that the government of Nepal acknowledged existing and ongoing human rights challenges in the country, the coalition said it was disappointed at the rhetorical statement by the government delegation and its failure to provide any concrete commitments and timelines for the implementation of Nepal's human rights obligations.

It said it was encouraged by the intervention made by other UN member states, particularly about Nepal's failure to address the culture of impunity, including investigations into past and ongoing human rights violations committed by both state security forces and non-state actors.

A number of states have made urgent calls to establish transitional justice mechanisms as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed between the ruling parties and the Maoist rebels in 2006 that ended a decade of conflict.

However, the pledge made by both sides to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that will punish war crimes and a Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances that will throw light on the fate of over 1,000 people who are missing still, has not been kept by either.

The NGOs also raised serious concern at the wide range of discriminatory policies and practices, specifically discrimination against women, children, Dalits, indigenous people, people with disabilities, refugees as well as religious, sexual and ethnic minorities.

The government also failed to address gender-based violence committed during and after the armed conflict.

Rights activists say the government delegation avoided answering a number of key questions, particularly with regards to lack of implementation of decisions and recommendations by the courts and the national human rights institutions as well as regarding the steps to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the Convention on Enforced Disappearances, the Convention on the Status of Refugees, and the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court.

'The UPR is not a one-time event,' the NGOs said. 'Recommendations put forward by the review must be followed up through proactive leadership of the government in ensuring practical and time-bound action plans for actual implementation, upon the genuine consultations with all relevant stakeholders in the country.'

In 2004, eight years after the Maoist revolt started, the UN Commission on Human Rights branded Nepal the worst perpetrator of enforced disappearances.

Though with the peace accord in 2006 the ruling parties as well as the Maoists agreed to make public the state of nearly 1,000 people missing still, there has been no progress even five years later.

All About: Asia,Nepal, Rome Statue, Nepal NGO Coalition, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, United Nations, UN Commission on Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, International Criminal Court, Commission of Inquiry

http://www.sify.com/news/rights-groups-cry-foul-as-nepal-denies-torture-at-un-news-international-lb0nEgibehj.html

APPELLATE COURTS ORDER POLICE TO SLOUGH OFF SLUMBER IN THREE CASES

2011-01-26T00:39:00.000-08:00

26 January 2010. Recent decisions from Appellate Courts have directed the police authorities concerned to immediately carry out effective investigations into two cases of extrajudicial execution and one case of killing perpetrated by the security forces and the Maoists respectively during the conflict.

On 12 January 2011, the Appellate Court of Nepalgunj issued an order of mandamus to the concerned authorities to initiate a prompt investigation vis-à-vis the extrajudicial execution of Patan Din Lohar and sought written reply enclosing all necessary documents with the 15 days timeframe (See Case Summary below)

Similarly, the Appellate Court, Tulsipur, on 23 November, 2010, gave clear directives to the District Police Office Dang, and District Public Prosecutor Office, Dang, "to complete the duty set down as per the law by effectively and promptly investigating into the FIR" by revving up investigation" regarding the brutal murder of eleven farmers (Asharam Chaudhari, Krishna Prasad Chaudhari, Sita Lal Chaudhari, Prasad Chaudhari, Ram Bahadur Chaudhari alias Ramu, Rupa Lal Chaudhari, Khusiram Chaudhari, Jagaman Chaudhari, Rishiram Chaudhari alias Rishman, Jogi Chaudhari, Somlal Chaudhari alias Soranga Chaudhari), by the members of the then Royal Nepal Army (RNA). (See Case Summary below)

In yet another decision on 19 January, 2011, the Appellate Court, Tulsipur issued a final order directing the District Police Office Dang, and District Public Prosecutor Office, Dang, "to initiate the prompt and effective investigation into the FIR set down by the State Case Act 2049" vis-à-vis the murder of three youths by the Maoists. (See Case Summary Below)

Case Summaries

Patan Din Lohar

Patandin Lohar, a commoner and blacksmith by profession, aged 33, resident of Phattepur-1, Jhagadiya, Banke district, was gunned down at around 1 pm on 1 December, 2001, by, a team of Nepal Police while he was answering the call of nature nearby his home. He was accused of being a Maoist. A team of Nepal Police in combat dress and others in plain clothes numbering in 50-60 had entered the village of Patan Din Lohar and searched his house before they killed him. The security forces however failed to find anything at the house of Patandin. He was shot down twice, while he was defecating at a distance of 300m far from his house, by a team of police under the command of Police Inspector Dharma Raj Sunar, Area Police Office, Bhoj Bhagawanpur, Banke. The dead body then was loaded to the tractor as ordered by the Police Inspector Dharma Bahadur Sunar. Bechan Lal Murau, Triloki Bahun and Babbu Lal Bahun helped the police to carry and load the dead body into the trailer of the tractor.

Murder of 11 farmers by then Royal Nepal Army

Eleven farmers of Bargadi were murdered by the then Royal Nepal Army on 28 November, 2001 while they were working in the paddy sifting yard that belonged to landlord Krishna Sharma. The names of these victims are as follows: Asharam Chaudhari, Krishna Prasad Chaudhari, Sitlal Chaudhari, Prasadu Chaudhari, Ram Bahadur Chaudhari, Ruplal, Khushiram Chaudhari, Jagaman Chaudhari, Rishiram Chaudhari, Jogi Chaudhari, Somlal Chaudhari. They were accused of being the supporters of Maoists. At around 3 pm, armed RNA personnel in uniform entered the village and went to the place where these victims were sifting paddy. Some army personnel said, “Comrade Red Salute!” and ordered all the victims to gather at a single place. The victims followed the order as they feared the army men. Army personnel asked them to genuflect and then they opened fire at them all. The soldiers then drove away in the red pick-up van.

Smoke was surging up in the incident spot. The victims’ family members couldn’t go to the incident spot because of the fear of the army. All except Ruplal Chaudhari were dead on the spot. Ruplal was crying for water. His wife dragged him to the hayrick, helped him lean on its support and gave him water. He could not drink water well; he only managed to drink some of it and poured it on his stomach while trying to drink. People gathered there were in dilemma whether to take him to hospital or not. They feared that soldiers may take reprisal on them if they took him to hospital. Later they decided that he should be taken to hospital. The victims’ family members started keening for their loved ones. Somlal Chaudhari’s family members took his dead body home.
Meanwhile, around 5 in the evening, the soldiers arrived there in three trucks covering their faces with masks. People gathered there began fleeing the scene fearing the soldiers. Seeing Ruplal Chaudhary alive, soldiers shot him dead and carried the ten bodies to Ghorahi. People were frightened to keep Somlal’s body at home for soldiers might come searching for it and kill others. Then they took the body back to the place of the incident. Army men came there the following morning and took it away on a truck.

Soldiers kept the dead bodies at Mahendra Hospital in Ghorahi for five to six days. Then the male members of the victims' family went there to claim the dead bodies. They went there along with the then mayor and vice-mayor of Tribhuvannagar Municipality and the ward president of the village Mohanlal Chaudhari. In the receipt it was stated that the victims had been killed in combat. When they tried to protest, army men threatened them by saying, “Sign on the receipt. The higher authorities have ordered the same. If you don’t sign, we’ll throw the corpse elsewhere and we also will do the same to you.” To save their own skin and to perform the last rites of their loved ones, they signed on the receipt. The victims’ relatives loaded them in a truck and brought them to a stream nearby Peepaldanda in Bargadi where they interred them in a row.

False news was announced from Radio Nepal and Nepal Television that RNA personnel had killed terrorists in combat at Bargadi. Those terrorists had come to loot weapons. It was also announced that a socket bomb had been found from their possession. Victims’ relatives felt that insult had been added to their injury when their innocent loved ones were killed for no reason and on top of that they were tagged as terrorists.

Murder of 3 youths by Maoists

Three youths, namely Upendra GC, Gir Bahadur Thapa and Suvas Roka, from Dang were abducted by Maoist on February 21, 2002. While the family members were searching for them, they found out the pamphlets at Bahundanda forest signed by Maoist district level leader stating that they had been “wiped out.” Though the pamphlets were found, no bodies were recovered until 9 days had passed. The anguished, terrified family members came to know the brutal killings of their loved ones and their bodies being thrown in Bahundanda forest.

After confirming the existence of the corpses, the victim’s relatives informed the police about it. However, the police showed reluctance in going to the incident spot citing the adverse condition of the country at that time. They asked the victim’s relatives to retrieve the corpses from the forest. In this way, the bereaved families were compelled to go to the incident spot taking a tripper with them. After they reached there, they found the corpses lying there in a horrible condition. All victims had been severely tortured to death. The corpses were emitting foul odor and insects had infested them. The heads had been burnt. Kerosene had been poured on the heads and fire had been set on them. The bodies had been wounded at many places with sharp weapons. There were no weapons, other goods or even any marks of struggle which indicated that the victims had been murdered elsewhere and thrown there. Suvas Thapa’s forehead and chest had been shot at while Girbahadur’s body was riddled with bullets. Moreover, one of his hands and legs had been severed from the body. His penis too had been cut out. Then, the corpses were taken to Mahendra Hospital for post-mortem. It was conducted in presence of the police who later handed the corpse over to the relatives.

http://www.advocacyforum.org/news/2011/01/Appellate-Courts-Order-Police-to-Slough-off-Slumber-in-Three-Cases.php

Nepal | Human Rights Watch World Report

2011-01-26T00:29:00.001-08:00

Events of 2010

Nepal's political and peace processes remained stalled in 2010, resulting in instability, weak governance, and no progress on accountability for human rights violations. Prime Minister Madav Kumar Nepal of the Unified Marxist-Leninist party (CPN-UML) resigned on June 30, under pressure from the Maoists who demand a unity government with themselves at the helm. At this writing the parliament has failed to form a new government, despite 16 rounds of parliamentary votes. The Constituent Assembly missed the May 28 deadline to draft a new constitution. In a last-minute deal, political parties concluded a three-point agreement to extend the Constituent Assembly by another year.

The government made little progress in 2010 on realizing people's economic, social, and cultural rights though economic development. Reports of lawlessness persist in many parts of the country, especially in the southern plains of the Terai and the eastern hills. Armed groups and ethnically based organizations have been involved in killings and extortion with impunity.

Accountability for Past Abuses

The government and political parties still fail to show the will to establish accountability for human rights violations committed during the war. No one from the security forces or among the Maoists has been held criminally responsible for abuses committed during the conflict. In many cases, those accused of violations actively receive protection from the security forces or political parties.

In October the Nepal Army extended the tenure of Colonel Raju Basnet by two years, though he was at the Maharajgunj army barracks in 2003 and 2004 when various cases of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance took place. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly requested that the government start proceedings against Basnet.

In spite of a court order, the army refused to hand over Major Niranjan Basnet, accused in 2004 of the torture, rape, and murder of 15-year-old Maina Sunwar. After Basnet was returned at the request of the UN from a peacekeeping mission in late 2009, the army took him into its custody. In July a military tribunal, established to probe the circumstances of Basnet's return from Chad, concluded he was "innocent."

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-M) leadership has likewise failed to cooperate with criminal investigations into alleged crimes committed by Maoists during and after the conflict.

Although the Comprehensive Peace Agreement does not provide a broad amnesty for serious crimes, the government continues to discuss the withdrawal of cases deemed "political," including cases of murder. In January the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Maoist Constituent Assembly member Balkrishna Dhungel for the 1998 murder of Ujjwal Kumar Shrestha. However, police have failed to arrest him, and Maoists claim the case is against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and interim constitution.

In September police and the NHRC exhumed the bodies of four people in Dhanusha district. The four are believed to be among five students that security forces allegedly disappeared and killed in 2003. So far, the police have failed to question officials and claim they are waiting for DNA results to pursue further investigations.

The draft bills to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Disappearances Commission have been tabled in parliament but await debate by the Statute Committee. While the bills are a step towards ensuring justice for war victims, several provisions remain that are inconsistent with international law.

Integration of Maoist Combatants

For more than four years, 19,602 Maoist former combatants have been held in UN-monitored cantonment sites. In January 2010 the process began of discharging 4,008 of them, who were disqualified as children (2,973 of them) and as late recruits. A UN monitoring mechanism was formed to scrutinize UCPN-M compliance with its commitment to a 2009 action plan with the government and the UN representatives, including a provision on the non-recruitment of children. A special committee established in mid-2009 to address the integration of Maoist combatants into the security forces was unable to function for several months due to the continuous absence of UCPN-M from meetings.

Dalits

Dalits ("untouchables") suffer from discrimination in economic, social, and cultural spheres. In September 2009 Nepal announced its support for the UN-agreed-upon guidelines on the elimination of caste discrimination. However, Nepal has yet to implement recommendations made in 2004 by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, including adopting relevant statutory law to enable the National Dalit Commission-a state agency-to fulfill its mandate.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The Nepal government has made significant strides towards ensuring equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in recent years. The government has promised that the 2011 national census will allow citizens to identify themselves as male, female, or transgender.

Yet progress remains tenuous. According to local NGOs, there are 280 discriminatory legal provisions affecting the LGBT community. In September sexual minorities alleged that the Home Minister refused to issue citizenship cards to transgender people, contravening a Supreme Court directive three years ago. In response, dozens of LGBT individuals staged protests in the capital. Police detained some protesters without charge for several hours.

Women's Rights

While women have constitutional guarantees and a strong representation in the Constituent Assembly, women and girls continue to face widespread discrimination. Violence and exploitation, including trafficking, domestic violence, dowry-related violence, rape, and sexual violence remain serious problems. Sexual violence cases are often settled in private, and even when complaints are filed, police rarely carry out effective investigations.

Female members of the Constituent Assembly have formed a caucus to pressure committees to discuss women's concerns. Some of the members' demands include for women's perspectives to be included on the issues of citizenship and property, and for the government to reserve positions for women in administration and the judiciary, and to provide dedicated public services for sexual and reproductive health.

Many women migrate to the Middle East as workers through recruitment agencies; once they arrive in these countries, they are often vulnerable to abuse and have very few legal protections.

Terai

Tensions persist over the rights of the different ethnic groups, including Madheshi communities near the Indian border in the Terai, who want greater autonomy and proportionate representation in government jobs. Public security remains a major concern in many districts of the Terai. The UN secretary-general, in his periodic report to the UN Security Council expressed concern that the extortion of officials, teachers, and business people by armed groups and ethnic organizations is on the rise despite increased police patrols.

According to human rights groups, the government's special security policy, which aims to address the deteriorating security situation, has led to increased human rights violations. For instance, OHCHR documented 57 cases of deaths as a result of the unlawful use of lethal force by security forces between January 2008 and June 2010. In several Terai districts, armed groups have recruited children as messengers for extortion notes and ransom collection, and for enforcing bandhs (strikes) called by the armed groups.

Tibetan Refugees

The current administration continued to endorse the "One China Policy" and Tibetan refugees faced increased harassment by Nepali authorities in efforts to appease China. Several instances of arrests, criminalization of entry, detention, refoulement, and attempted refoulement of Tibetan refugees were reportedin 2010. In June Nepali authorities forcefully deported three Tibetan new arrivals from Humla district. Two of them are believed to be in detention in China. In October police in Kathmandu confiscated ballot boxes during annual elections held by Tibetan refugees to nominate candidates for the government in exile. The Home Minister reportedly issued a statement saying the polling "violated Nepal's foreign policy and existing laws of the host country."

Key International Actors

Nepal is dependent on aid and relies heavily on its traditional donors, such as Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and the European Union. It has to maintain a balance in its relations with its two powerful neighbors, India and China. In an effort to correct their heavy dependency on India, Nepali political parties-particularly the Maoist-led government-have attempted to strengthen ties with China. In December 2009 China provided military aid of about US$3 million, including training for the Nepal Army.

In December 2009 the US president signed into law the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes a prohibition on assistance to the Nepal army unless, among other things, it fully cooperates with investigations and prosecutions by civilian judicial authorities of violations of internationally recognized human rights.

India played a positive role in bringing about the comprehensive peace agreement between political parties to end the Maoist conflict. But since then, India stands accused of meddling in the selection of a consensus prime minister, adding to the political instability.

The UK continues to provide military assistance to Nepal. In October Nepal's army chief, Gen. Chhatraman Gurung, visited the UK to boost military ties.

The UCPN-M remains on the US list of banned terrorist organizations. In June, the US embassy in Kathmandu denied a visa to Agni Sapkota, a senior Maoist member, for his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killing of Arjun Bahhadur Lama during the Maoist insurgency.

Nepal continues to be a key troop-contributing country to UN peacekeeping missions.

In June the government renewed OHCHR's mandate for a year but demanded a phased closure of all offices outside Kathmandu, thus weakening human rights monitoring in the field.

The mandate of the UN Mission in Nepal is ending in January 2011. UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe visited Nepal in October to discuss the peace process with the prime minister.

http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/nepal

Nepal dealing with the past

AF-REDRESS SUBMIT KEY RECOMMENDATIONS VIS-À-VIS PROPOSED CRIMINAL CODE

Apex court intervention sought

Nepal: UN human rights official urges creation of justice and reconciliation commissions

More power for district‚ appellate courts - Detail News

More power for district‚ appellate courts

Groups to press for pro-women statute

SC seeks govt response on TRC

SC notice to govt on TRC

COURT DECIDES IN FAVOUR OF TORTURE VICTIM

11 April 2011. The District Court of Bardiya issued an order on 6 April, 2011, to award compensation amounting NRs 50,000/- to torture survivor Chinku Tharu and departmental action against the perpetrator involved.

Details of conflict-hit being collected | Concerns over Peace Committee berth to murder accused | Insurgency victims deprive of relief

Details of conflict-hit being collected

Concerns over Peace Committee berth to murder accused

Insurgency victims deprive of relief

Conflict victims summit memo to PM

Added At: 2011-03-30 8:01 PM

Price of conflict costing state in excess of Rs. 2.5 billion

The Himalayan Times - Price of conflict costing state in excess of Rs. 2.5 billion - Detail News

Nepal revises civil war death toll to 17,265+

Progress in Constitution drafting work remains slow, and Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, who was elected by parliament on Feb. 3, has yet to announce a full Cabinet.

Govt calls armed outfits for talks

Cases of Grave Human Rights Violations to be Filed

Kapilbastu/March 18

Nandaram Paudel

The Himalayan Times - Seminar calls for end to armed violence - Detail News

Seminar calls for end to armed violence

The Himalayan Times - Action plan to help conflict hit children - Detail News

Action plan to help conflict hit children

Enforced disappearance and torture of Jit Man Basnet from February to October 2004

CA panel asks ministry to release Guthi report

EKANTIPUR REPORT

PLA integration: Not against PLA integration: Army

Baglung is landmine free

BABURAM KHAREL

War victims boycott felicitation function

Added At: 2011-01-31 12:03 AM

KMC to build Martyrs' Park

Added At: 2011-01-31 11:04 PM

Nepal: Disappeared to be listed on billboard

Translated from Nepal Samacharpatra (accessed 30 Jan 2011)

बेपत्ता नागरिकको नाम होर्डिङ बोर्डमा

Is Nepal's Peace Process Destined to Fail?

MORE

Debate on Nepali Army reform

Experts against using term 'democratisation'

Rights groups cry foul as Nepal denies torture at UN

APPELLATE COURTS ORDER POLICE TO SLOUGH OFF SLUMBER IN THREE CASES

Nepal | Human Rights Watch World Report

Nepal

Events of 2010

Accountability for Past Abuses

Integration of Maoist Combatants

Dalits

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Women's Rights

Terai

Tibetan Refugees

Key International Actors