Human rights
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GrafikICJ High-Level Mission to Examine Human Rights Crisis In Nepal
November 2004 - PRESS RELEASE

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) begins an eight-day high-level mission today to assess the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation and the rule of law in Nepal and to discuss with the government, judiciary and civil society effective means to address the spiralling crisis.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) begins an eight-day high-level mission today to assess the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation and the rule of law in Nepal and to discuss with the government, judiciary and civil society effective means to address the spiralling crisis.

The Mission will be led by ICJ Secretary-General Nicholas Howen and be accompanied by human rights jurist Periathamby Rajanayagam and ICJ Legal Adviser Ian Seiderman.

Nepal is embroiled in an eight-year internal conflict between the government and insurgent Maoist rebels. Over the past three years, wide-scale abuses have been committed by both sides to the conflict. Since King Gyanendra dissolved the Parliament in 2002, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and other government security forces have operated without effective civilian accountability and have been implicated in enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture and secret incommunicado detention. Well-documented abuses have resulted in impunity. The Maoist rebels have engaged in a pattern of violations of international humanitarian law, including summary killings of non-combatants.

The ICJ believes that taking practical steps to address the human rights crisis would be essential confidence-building measures on a road to a negotiated settlement of this brutal conflict.

In early 2003, the ICJ visited Nepal and concluded that a breakdown in the rule of law in the country was under way. The present mission will build on the findings and recommendations of the earlier mission.

While in Nepal, the mission team will meet with Nepali Government officials, the RNA and other security forces, the National Human Rights Commission, leading members of the judiciary and bar, non-governmental human rights organisations, human rights victims, and the international community.

October 2004 - PRESS RELEASE

GrafikNew Anti-Terrorism Measure a Major Step Backwards for Nepal

The International Commission of Jurists today called on the Government of King Gyanendra of Nepal to reverse its decision to allow government officials to put people in preventive detention without charge or trial or supervision by the courts for up to one year.

On 13 October the Government re-promulgated the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance (TADO) which includes this provision.

"Locking people away without due process and beyond the reach of the courts for up to one year will do nothing to reduce the violence or increase security in Nepal," said ICJ Secretary-General Nicholas Howen.

"The security forces are already regularly arbitrarily detaining Nepalis. This measure now gives a legal cover for local officials to hold people for four times as long, without sufficient safeguards or evidence of criminal wrongdoing."

"It will also put these detainees at risk of other serious abuses such as enforced disappearance and torture, " warned Nicholas Howen.

"Anyone suspected of carrying out criminal acts must be quickly charged and tried or released and the courts must closely supervise all detentions," he added.

"The country is facing a crisis but our experience around the world shows that human rights abuses only make a conflict worse. The best way to bring security to the people of Nepal is for both sides to respect fundamental human rights," concluded Nicholas Howen.

Under the prior version of TADO, people could be detained for up to 90 days on authority of the Chief District Officer (CDO), an executive, rather than a judicial official. In practice, many persons have been detained for far longer periods, without benefit of a meaningful review by the courts or even the CDO. Under the newly amended TADO, the CDO is empowered to detain any person for six months and may do so for a further six months on authorization by the Home Ministry.

Since the breakdown of peace talks between the Government and the Maoist insurgents in August 2003, the human rights situation in Nepal has deteriorated dramatically. Widespread abuses have been committed by both sides, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture and arbitrary detention.

The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal has requested assistance from the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights to carry out its human rights protection work throughout Nepal. The Government committed itself to accepting such assistance at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva in April 2004. Nevertheless, the Government has so far not concluded an agreement with the UN to implement this commitment.

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International Commission of Jurists Nepal
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