The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is to set up a monitoring operation in Nepal in a move to help establish
accountability for human rights abuses and prevent further violations.
High
Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and Ramesh Nath Pandey, Minister
for Foreign Affairs on behalf of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, signed
the agreement establishing the operation today. The agreement is to be
implemented immediately and planning is already well-advanced to ensure
the early start-up of operations and deployment of human rights officers
for the monitoring.
It
is foreseen that OHCHR field offices will be set-up at the regional level
in order to ensure rapid response to reports of human rights violations.
The High Commissioner said she hoped human rights monitoring under United
Nations auspices would be an important step in establishing accountability
for human rights abuses and helping prevent serious human rights violations
resulting from the nine-year old armed conflict.
"Breaking
the cycle of serious and systematic abuses will be the first essential
step toward achieving peace and reconciliation in Nepal", Mrs. Arbour said.
The
agreement provides for the establishment of an OHCHR Office in Nepal that
will "monitor the observance of human rights and international humanitarian
law, bearing in mind the climate of violence and the internal armed conflict
in the country". Based on the information collected by the office, the
High Commissioner for Human Rights will submit periodic analytic reports
on any human rights violations committed by either side of the conflict
to the Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General.
The Office will also advise His Majesty's Government on matters related
to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nepal and will provide
advisory services and human rights support to representatives of civil
society, human rights non-governmental organisations and individuals.
Under
the agreement, the Office will "engage all relevant actors, including non-state
actors, for the purpose of ensuring the observance of relevant international
human rights and humanitarian law". The OHCHR monitors will seek the cooperation
of both the security forces and the CPN-Maoists to ensure that all human
rights violations, wherever they occur, are investigated and reported on.
The agreement also stipulates that the OHCHR Office will maintain "impartiality,
independence, objectivity and transparency" in all its work. It is expected
that the Office will work closely with local human rights defenders, including
the press, in carrying out its investigations.
OFFICE
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