The Observatory has been informed by the Peoples’ Forum for Human Rights and Development (PFHRD), a Nepal-based Bhutanese human rights association, that the Nepalese Government refused to issue a Travel Document (TD) to Mr. S.K. Pradhan, Secretary General of PFHRD, as well as to two members of his organisation, Ms. Sunita Pradhan, his daughter, and Mr. D.B. Bhandari, PFHRD Camp Co-ordinator.
According to the information received, Mr. S.K. Pradhan, who has been actively involved defending refugees’ rights in Nepal for 14 years, and his two colleagues, were denied Travel Documents to travel to the USA and Taiwan, on November 25, 26 and 27, 2004, and on December 10, 2004, after submitting their request to the Refugee Coordination Unit (RCU), Chandragari, Jhapa, on November 10, 2004.
After receiving their application, the Section Officer at the RCU office, Mr. Nirmal Raj Khanal, told PFHRD to bring a recommendation letter from the supervisor of the Bhutanese refugee camp Beldangi-III, where Mr. Bhandari, Mr. Pradhan, and Ms. Pradhan are registered, although the two last ones do live in Kathmandu. This letter of recommendation was submitted to the RCU office accordingly.
On November 25, 2004, Mr. Pradhan was told, during his meeting with Mr. Khanal, that he had to meet RCU Deputy Director Mr. Basanta Raj Bhattarai, who refused to discuss the issue and told him to meet Mr. Tika Ram Aryal, Jhapa Chief District Officer (CDO) and RCU Director. The latter told him that he would discuss the matter with Mr. Bhattarai.
Since then, their demand has been pending, though there was no official notification by the RCU officials, who kept simply saying that it was under process.
As a result, Mr. Pradhan was prevented from attending the World Forum for Democracy in Asia (WFDA) conference in Taiwan, which was held by the Taiwan Forum for Democracy from December 14-17, 2004, and thus missed the opportunity to discuss the Bhutanese refugee issue at this international forum. The Observatory notes that, in the past, Mr. Pradhan had no problems in getting a Travel Document as he is a legally registered refugee.
The Observatory is concerned by these restrictions to Mr. Pradhan’s freedom of movement and fears that these acts be directly linked to his work in favour of refugees rights in Nepal. The Observatory recalls that Mr. Pradhan recently spent three years in prison, after having been charged with complicity in the murder of Mr. R. K. Budhahathoki, chairman of the Bhutan Peoples’ Party (BPP) in September 2001. However, at the time of the murder (September 9, 2001), Mr. Pradhan was allegedly in Kathmandu, which is at a distance of 500 km from Damak as he had just returned from South Africa where he had attended the UN World Conference on Racism. On August 22, 2004, the District Court of Chandragari, in Jhapa, sentenced Mr. S. K. Pradhan to three years imprisonment to be completed on September 21, 2004 and he was effectively released on that day (see Annual Report 2003, Observatory Urgent Appeal NPL 002/0904/OBS 069 as well as Open Letter to the Nepalese authorities, on May 6, 2004). His sentence, however, did not include any limitation to his freedom of movement.
The Observatory recalls that these restrictions on freedom of movement is a violation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular of its article 5, which states that “for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at national and international levels: (c) to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organisations”. It also violates article 6 of the UN Declaration, regarding the right “to know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms” (...), “to freely publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms” and “to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”.
The Observatory strongly urges the Nepalese authorities to deliver Travel Documents to Mr. S. K. Pradhan and other members of PFHRD and allow them to take part in international human rights forums, as well as to end all forms of harassment and restrictions on human rights defenders in Nepal.
Moreover, the Observatory urges the Nepalese authorities to comply with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, especially article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and the above-mentioned articles 5 and 6. More generally, the Observatory urges the Nepalese authorities to guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Nepal.
In the hope you will take these considerations and requests into account,
We remain,
Sidiki KABA FIDH president
Eric SOTTAS OMCT Director