NHRC report urges govt to implement rule of law
By Sudha Regmi and Anshu Karki
KATHMANDU, April 2 - National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Monday stated that the Maoist camps contained quite a significant number of children below the age of 18.
In a report made public regarding the human rights situation in the country from Oct 31, 2006 to 25 February, 2007, it was stated that children were recruited through the enticement of large salaries and on many occasions, were coerced to join the Maoist against their will.
The report stated that despite the peace pact, the Maoists had come out of their cantonments in Siraha, Saptari, Udaypur, Ilam and Nepalgunj. Moreover, even the Maoist MPs have been found to enter the Parliament with arms. Because of this and many more irresponsible acts in a direct violation of the peace treaty, the general people still feel terrorized by the Maoists.
The report further said that the Maoist army camps lacked basic necessities like drinking water, electricity and medical facilities. Similarly, the health of pregnant women in the camps was weak and they were not provided proper medical facilities.
Although they had agreed to return the government, public and private property seized during the People’s War, the Maoist still retain hold of a majority of this property.
Meanwhile, the Maoists had seized a private house in Harnamadi, Makwanpur and converted it into a jail where 19 people were imprisoned.
Because of the Maoist atrocities, 350 people from 49 families have been forced to flee the country and go to India, the report said.
Likewise, according to the report, the government also holds its fair share of blame. There have been reports of atrocities against journalists by army men.
During the violent Terai agitation, both Maoists and the government had violated human rights time and again.
Where Maoists had thrashed and shot general people, the security personnel had also fired shots to disperse the crowd.
The MPRF agitators had also attacked 18 journalists, claiming that they had failed to publish news as per their demands.
The report also said that the agitators also had attacked injured people undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sarlahi. Although the movement was supposed to be unarmed, the protesters took to streets carrying baton, rods, knives and various other household weapons.
Even after the peace accord, the Maoists have not totally given up activities like abducting schoolchildren and forcing them to participate in party programmes.
Looking at the positive side, the report mentioned that there has been a significant decrease in activities like bombing educational institutions, armed attacks, killings and overall violence.
Similarly, the promulgation of the Interim Constitution gives hope that equality — whether it be gender related or caste related — might be brought into the country, the report stated.
The report states that although the tenure of commission officials had ended, the government has not appointed any new officials to replace them, creating problems in the decision making process.
The report concludes that the government needs to be more proactive rather than reactive and take initiative to implement the rule of law in the nation.
The report, however, did not include the Gaur incident.
The acting Secretary of NHRC Dhruba Nepal said that although the investigation of the Gaur incident had already been completed, a separate report on the incident would be provided later.
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NHRC records 640 cases of human rights abuses in four months
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recorded 640 cases of human rights violations including murder, abduction and disappearance within a period of four months - from October 31, 2006 to February 5 this year.
A NHRC report publicised today says that out of the total 640 recorded cases, 123 people were killed – 86 by the security forces, 30 by the Maoists and 7 people by others including the two factions of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Murcha (JTMM). Most of the murder cases occurred in Terai districts like Bara, Sarlahi, Morang, Sunsari and Dhanusha.
Similarly, 65 people were abducted by the Maoists during the four months period while the security forces were responsible for disappearance of 65 people. 20 people were abducted, or involuntarily disappeared, by other groups.
According to the NHRC report, 66 people underwent torture - 32 by security persons, 27 by Maoists and six by others. Likewise, 57 people were displaced due to Maoist threats. The Maoists seized properties of 41 people during this period.
Other cases of human rights violation include threats, mistreatment and exploitation of children and others.
Speaking at the programme organised to publicise the report, NHRC secretary Dhruba Nepal said human rights violations continued despite the signing of comprehensive peace accord.
Nepal said both the government and the Maoists must work seriously to end the culture of impunity. He also demanded that the government appoint senior officials at the NHRC as early as possible.
nepalnews.com mk Apr 02 07
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Monday, April 2, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Human Rights Acropobia While Throwing Pebbles in a Backyard Stream
like many of us, i suppose, i prefer saturdays spent in our garden, lingering, watering the trees, finding pebbles for the stream bed or taking a walk up the hill behind our home. it constantly amazes me how 8 or 9 am can so easily b/c 2 pm in such languid times. i'm not sure that i can yet slide into such quiet regularly, but it feels good on the w/end when i don't even have go into an increasingly busy & crowded town from friday night to monday morning...
although last saturday, it was good to cross town to help the national human rights commission (nhrc) with the planned press conference on impunity issues. i'd been encouraging them to bring actual victims of such human rights abuses, be it abduction by the maoists or disappearances by the government or killings, torture or the sad litany of human casualities from the past ten years of conflict. we were fortunate to receive frontpage news the next day w/ headlines on impunity and the government's lack of seriousness to respond to past nhrc recommendations on these cases -- esp. w/ louise arbour, the un high commissioner for human rights here in nepal for a week.
still, you would be shocked to hear all of the subtle and not so subtle politics that goes on iin this human rights' world. sometimes i think it's b/c we aim toward the highest levels of human aspiration, the top of maslow's pyramid of human values, whereas we're still dealing w/ the nature of the human ego with all of its passions, jealousies and self-centeredness. one can get moral acrophobia (fear of human heights...) in this type of lofty, at times rhetorical human rights environment. then, of course, we're dealign w/ some of the lowest forms of human distemper, as well, when our beastly nature overwhelms our self-control and we are able to murder another soul in a fit of anger, revenge or mere ruthlessness. some days, when you see the faces of those who have suffered, and the accusations made, i think i've stepped into the nyc prosecutor's world of crimes and investigations -- leaving my past development world of literacy, public health and micro-loans far behind...
then there are the institutional politics between international and national bodies, not to mention, not far in the background, the influence of the political parties on the main actors in the human rights field in nepal. add the donors with their own agendas and, at times, arrogance, with the wealth that is lavished on western organizations while nepalis who work in places like the nhrc must make do with salaries of $150/month and offces that are barely equipped with heaters or computers or vehicles. sometimes i feel like, even in the human rights field, its the equivalent of working in an inner city school with the handsome, well-endowed prep school in over across town up on the ivy-coated hill. after so many years in save the children, which is part of the well-endowed world, maybe it's a good opportunity to be reminded of the realities of the barriers that we try to avoid seeing in our daily lives.
whoosh! as someone said to me when i started this work last september, 'human rights makes child rights look like kid's play...' ;-)
as many of you know, dear nepal, within this unsteady peace process, remains on the knife's edge. political change continues at a dizzing pace w/o actually creating a sense of greater security or stability. we've been rocked by riots in lahan, siraha, of all places, down in the terai (near the indian border) the past few days w/ young students killed and the madeshi (terai people) liberation groups leading the charge. then a few days ago we had a national transport strike for two days, too, protesting their busses being burnt in siraha & elsewhere due to these demonstrations. more, whoosh!
although the strike is over, so no more long 25 km bike rides from home across the valley to pulchowk and back... the political instability promises to continue. the govt is intent on elections to a constituent assembly in june to write a new constitution (over two years), but one wonders if this is an exercise in collective day-dreaming. the signs are not exactly promising, even as everyone keeps promising that the election will go ahead as stated. with all of the political maneuvering going on in the background, proverbial trenches and media airwaves, it sounds, to say the least, and based on recent nepal experience, mildly optimistic.
to be honest, it's also a bit tedious as this story never seems to find its balance. after a week in cambodia over new years seeing the economic growth & potential there, it's disheartening to see how beloved nepal stays stuck in the present continuous tense, or even rewind, w/o finding a way to fulfill the country's wondrous potential. even eternally optimistic shakun is getting a bit fed-up w/ the situation, as she also gets more invovled in the drama of janjati/ethnic politics, proportional representation and constitutional change.
in that sense, i can appreciate joshua deciding a week ago to apply for the world college program. he is eager for something new for his young life, even it means doing his 11th grade over again in a different, challenging environment. the world college program is based on an IB curriculum which emphasizes community service, created by the founder of the outward bound program, there are some dozen campuses around the world, including italia, wales, singapore and british columbia, which is josh's order of preference. however, admission is exceptionally competitive given the limited places for americans which he understands. still, it'd be absolutely wonderful for him, even as we'd miss him terribly at home if he was accepted.
lastly, there is still english premier league football. the boys command the tv on the w/end nights when their principles play. last w/end it was the league leading manchester united vs a resurgent arsenal. alas, ez was emotionally crushed when thierry henry scored w/ seconds to go against man utd. ezra, literally, sat still for ten minutes, staring away from the tv, then rolled over and slept on the floor of the room. i felt so bad for him, but he wasn't to be comforted, alas. whereas josh seems to have made some emotional separation from liverpool (a girlfriend, methinks, helps...), but ez is in blind young teenage love w/ his redmen from the north country...
xoxox from afar...
although last saturday, it was good to cross town to help the national human rights commission (nhrc) with the planned press conference on impunity issues. i'd been encouraging them to bring actual victims of such human rights abuses, be it abduction by the maoists or disappearances by the government or killings, torture or the sad litany of human casualities from the past ten years of conflict. we were fortunate to receive frontpage news the next day w/ headlines on impunity and the government's lack of seriousness to respond to past nhrc recommendations on these cases -- esp. w/ louise arbour, the un high commissioner for human rights here in nepal for a week.
still, you would be shocked to hear all of the subtle and not so subtle politics that goes on iin this human rights' world. sometimes i think it's b/c we aim toward the highest levels of human aspiration, the top of maslow's pyramid of human values, whereas we're still dealing w/ the nature of the human ego with all of its passions, jealousies and self-centeredness. one can get moral acrophobia (fear of human heights...) in this type of lofty, at times rhetorical human rights environment. then, of course, we're dealign w/ some of the lowest forms of human distemper, as well, when our beastly nature overwhelms our self-control and we are able to murder another soul in a fit of anger, revenge or mere ruthlessness. some days, when you see the faces of those who have suffered, and the accusations made, i think i've stepped into the nyc prosecutor's world of crimes and investigations -- leaving my past development world of literacy, public health and micro-loans far behind...
then there are the institutional politics between international and national bodies, not to mention, not far in the background, the influence of the political parties on the main actors in the human rights field in nepal. add the donors with their own agendas and, at times, arrogance, with the wealth that is lavished on western organizations while nepalis who work in places like the nhrc must make do with salaries of $150/month and offces that are barely equipped with heaters or computers or vehicles. sometimes i feel like, even in the human rights field, its the equivalent of working in an inner city school with the handsome, well-endowed prep school in over across town up on the ivy-coated hill. after so many years in save the children, which is part of the well-endowed world, maybe it's a good opportunity to be reminded of the realities of the barriers that we try to avoid seeing in our daily lives.
whoosh! as someone said to me when i started this work last september, 'human rights makes child rights look like kid's play...' ;-)
as many of you know, dear nepal, within this unsteady peace process, remains on the knife's edge. political change continues at a dizzing pace w/o actually creating a sense of greater security or stability. we've been rocked by riots in lahan, siraha, of all places, down in the terai (near the indian border) the past few days w/ young students killed and the madeshi (terai people) liberation groups leading the charge. then a few days ago we had a national transport strike for two days, too, protesting their busses being burnt in siraha & elsewhere due to these demonstrations. more, whoosh!
although the strike is over, so no more long 25 km bike rides from home across the valley to pulchowk and back... the political instability promises to continue. the govt is intent on elections to a constituent assembly in june to write a new constitution (over two years), but one wonders if this is an exercise in collective day-dreaming. the signs are not exactly promising, even as everyone keeps promising that the election will go ahead as stated. with all of the political maneuvering going on in the background, proverbial trenches and media airwaves, it sounds, to say the least, and based on recent nepal experience, mildly optimistic.
to be honest, it's also a bit tedious as this story never seems to find its balance. after a week in cambodia over new years seeing the economic growth & potential there, it's disheartening to see how beloved nepal stays stuck in the present continuous tense, or even rewind, w/o finding a way to fulfill the country's wondrous potential. even eternally optimistic shakun is getting a bit fed-up w/ the situation, as she also gets more invovled in the drama of janjati/ethnic politics, proportional representation and constitutional change.
in that sense, i can appreciate joshua deciding a week ago to apply for the world college program. he is eager for something new for his young life, even it means doing his 11th grade over again in a different, challenging environment. the world college program is based on an IB curriculum which emphasizes community service, created by the founder of the outward bound program, there are some dozen campuses around the world, including italia, wales, singapore and british columbia, which is josh's order of preference. however, admission is exceptionally competitive given the limited places for americans which he understands. still, it'd be absolutely wonderful for him, even as we'd miss him terribly at home if he was accepted.
lastly, there is still english premier league football. the boys command the tv on the w/end nights when their principles play. last w/end it was the league leading manchester united vs a resurgent arsenal. alas, ez was emotionally crushed when thierry henry scored w/ seconds to go against man utd. ezra, literally, sat still for ten minutes, staring away from the tv, then rolled over and slept on the floor of the room. i felt so bad for him, but he wasn't to be comforted, alas. whereas josh seems to have made some emotional separation from liverpool (a girlfriend, methinks, helps...), but ez is in blind young teenage love w/ his redmen from the north country...
xoxox from afar...
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
58th Int'l Human Rts Day: Social Inclusion and Human Rights
The Himalayan Times
EDITORIAL, December 11th, 2006
Social inclusion and human rights
Keith D Leslie
In the mid 1980s, my work in rural Nepal included building schools in remote villages. There was one aspect of my project that haunts me till date. When I compared the roster of those building the schools with the students who attended them, a remarkable fact emerged: the surnames of those involved in contruction were always different from those attending the school. The toiling adults were usually from Vishwakarma (BK), Pariyar and Sarki families, whereas the children studying in the school were from Subedi, Karki and Shrestha families.
It was apparent that Nepal was a distinctly hierarchical society that had been defined and predetermined by caste, gender and ethnicity. In fact, before 1963, Nepali Dalits were forbidden to attend government schools by the Muluki Ain. This century-old national law kept hard-working castes in the shadows of society, suppressed by a historical and religious proscription that allowed them to build the local schools — but didn’t permit their children to attend them.
Later, when our programme moved north to the remote mountains, where the Gurung, Ghaley and Baramu live, I could see that many Janjati (ethnic) communities receded from power - not sought it - over Nepal’s long and turbulent history. Similarly, in the Terai and the hills surrounding Kathmandu, the social and political barriers to education, property and political power were equally visible among the landless Maithali Dalits, the disenfranchised majority Terai Tharu and the intentionally exploited Tamang communities. Such cultural and economic realities were visible but rarely discussed. Quality was seen as the antithesis of diversity, not a core component of Nepal’s rich culture.
Only recently have Kathamndu-centric civil society, donors and national leaders used the words, “Social Exclusion”, “Unequal Citizens” or “Ethnic Discrimination” as acceptable terms to describe the impact of rigid national hierarchy. Now that a peaceful process to create a “New Nepal” has begun, it is essential that universal human rights be made the foundation of Nepal as established by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. Although past governments signed such documents, the nation has never fulfilled its commitment.
Hence political parties and government representatives have to assume the mantle for changing this social disparity. Only when indigenous communities have access to similar educational opportunities as ‘high caste’ students will Nepal achieve a society that measures up to its ideals. Only when the rights of ex-kamaiyas to own home and land are secured will Nepal’s reality match its rhetoric. Only when Musahar and Dom children can afford to attend school and not work in dangerous brick factories will Nepal be secure and prosperous. Only when the children of soft-spoken Tamang community now working as domestics in urban homes achieve positions of authority in the government will the face of Nepal truly change.
Only when the rights of Nepali children of all castes, ethnicities and religions are protected and promoted by parents, communities and government will Nepal know the comfort of peace.
EDITORIAL, December 11th, 2006
Social inclusion and human rights
Keith D Leslie
In the mid 1980s, my work in rural Nepal included building schools in remote villages. There was one aspect of my project that haunts me till date. When I compared the roster of those building the schools with the students who attended them, a remarkable fact emerged: the surnames of those involved in contruction were always different from those attending the school. The toiling adults were usually from Vishwakarma (BK), Pariyar and Sarki families, whereas the children studying in the school were from Subedi, Karki and Shrestha families.
It was apparent that Nepal was a distinctly hierarchical society that had been defined and predetermined by caste, gender and ethnicity. In fact, before 1963, Nepali Dalits were forbidden to attend government schools by the Muluki Ain. This century-old national law kept hard-working castes in the shadows of society, suppressed by a historical and religious proscription that allowed them to build the local schools — but didn’t permit their children to attend them.
Later, when our programme moved north to the remote mountains, where the Gurung, Ghaley and Baramu live, I could see that many Janjati (ethnic) communities receded from power - not sought it - over Nepal’s long and turbulent history. Similarly, in the Terai and the hills surrounding Kathmandu, the social and political barriers to education, property and political power were equally visible among the landless Maithali Dalits, the disenfranchised majority Terai Tharu and the intentionally exploited Tamang communities. Such cultural and economic realities were visible but rarely discussed. Quality was seen as the antithesis of diversity, not a core component of Nepal’s rich culture.
Only recently have Kathamndu-centric civil society, donors and national leaders used the words, “Social Exclusion”, “Unequal Citizens” or “Ethnic Discrimination” as acceptable terms to describe the impact of rigid national hierarchy. Now that a peaceful process to create a “New Nepal” has begun, it is essential that universal human rights be made the foundation of Nepal as established by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. Although past governments signed such documents, the nation has never fulfilled its commitment.
Hence political parties and government representatives have to assume the mantle for changing this social disparity. Only when indigenous communities have access to similar educational opportunities as ‘high caste’ students will Nepal achieve a society that measures up to its ideals. Only when the rights of ex-kamaiyas to own home and land are secured will Nepal’s reality match its rhetoric. Only when Musahar and Dom children can afford to attend school and not work in dangerous brick factories will Nepal be secure and prosperous. Only when the children of soft-spoken Tamang community now working as domestics in urban homes achieve positions of authority in the government will the face of Nepal truly change.
Only when the rights of Nepali children of all castes, ethnicities and religions are protected and promoted by parents, communities and government will Nepal know the comfort of peace.
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