Kathmandu, September 2

The Constituent Assembly must urgently revise the Constitution Bill to guarantee human rights and ensure strong and effective protection of human rights in accordance with Nepal’s international legal obligations, said the International Commission of Jurists today.

As per the CA Rules of Procedure, CA members will have to register their amendment proposals on the draft constitution by September 5.

“This draft includes some improvements, but it still needs to be revised seriously to meet international human rights standards,” said Nikhil Narayan, senior legal adviser of ICJ for South Asia.

As an immediate matter, he added, the CA must extend the September 5 deadline and provide adequate time for public consultation and discussion on the draft .

The deadly violence that has accompanied protests across Nepal against the draft constitution is a warning about the high stakes for the drafters of the constitution, Narayan added.

“The new constitution should be the platform to bring the the country together after years of conflict and not serve as a new cause for discontent and insecurity,” he added.

The ICJ called on the government of Nepal to conduct prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into all protest-related deaths and injuries.

“Where unlawful conduct is established, including by members of the security forces, those responsible must be brought to justice,” it said.

The IJC had released a detailed briefing papers in July 2015, analyzing provisions of the draft constitution on citizenship, fundamental rights and judicial independence, in light of Nepal’s international human rights obligations.

The ICJ said many of those concerns expressed in the earlier briefing papers must also be addressed urgently. It said non-citizens were excluded from key rights and protections such as right to equality, right to property, right to information, right to education, right to employment, right to health, right to food, right to housing, and right to social security.