| Amnesty
International - AI
Association for the prevention of torture - APT
International federation for Human rights -FIDH
Human Rights watch - HRW
International commission of juristes - ICJ
Nepal's national Human rights commission - NHRC
World organisation against torture - OMCT
24 November 2003
Seven international human rights organisations
have strongly endorsed the call by the Nepal’s National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and eight Governmental donor
agencies and Embassies in Kathmandu for international monitoring
of the human rights situation in Nepal and have urged the international
community to fully support this appeal. The organisations, Amnesty
International, the Association for the Prevention of Torture
(APT), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Commission
of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation of Human Rights
(FIDH), the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), and
the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) also have called
on the Government of Nepal to extend invitations to visit the
country to the human rights experts of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission.
On 18 November, the NHRC issued a call for
United Nations human rights experts, including those charged
with examining arbitrary detention and torture, to visit the
country. The NHCR has presented a proposal for a Human Rights
Accord to the Government and the Maoist rebels which would provide
for five NHRC regional monitoring units in the country to operate
in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights.
In a joint statement of 18 November, the Canadian
Embassy, the United Kingdom Department for International Development
(DFID), the French Embassy, the German Society for Technical
Cooperation (GTZ), the Royal Danish Embassy, the Royal Norwegian
Embassy, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and
the Netherlands Development Organisation have expressed concern
about “the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation”
and declared that there is an “urgent need” for
the Government and the Maoist rebels to sign the proposed Human
Rights Accord.
The Nepal Bar Association and many Nepalese
human rights organisations have made similar calls for an international
monitoring presence.
Background
Since the breakdown of peace talks in August,
the incidents of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances,
torture, and arbitrary detentions in Nepal have risen dramatically.
A large number of persons have been held incommunicado in army
barracks. Officers at army barracks have been refusing to accept
habeas corpus notices issued by the Nepal Supreme Court, on
behalf of detainees.
The Government of Nepal has recently sought
to undermine the independent NHRC by proposing the establishment
of a parallel human rights unit directly under the supervision
of the Prime Minister. Army officials have challenged the NHRC
over the findings by its independent experts that at least 19
unarmed persons were extra-judicially executed by army personnel
in Ramechhap District on 17 August 2003.
For further information, please contact :
Amnesty International: Magda Wendorff at +44
20 7413 5729
APT: Mark Thomson at + 41 22 919 21 70
FIDH: Isabelle Brachet at + 33 1 43 55 25 18
HRW: Rory Mungoven at +1 212 216 1276
ICJ: Ian Seiderman at +41 22 979 38 23
ISHR: Christopher Sidoti at +41 22 733 51 23
OMCT: Michael Anthony at + 41 22 809 49 39
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