'The government failed to progress in delivering justice'
KATHMANDU, APRIL 24
"It is too late for transitional justice to be delivered to conflict victims," said Nirajan Thapaliya, Amnesty International's Nepal Director, to The Himalayan Times after releasing the Amnesty International's Report in Nepal on Wednesday in Kathmandu.
"The government again failed to make significant progress towards delivering truth, justice and reparations to the tens of thousands of victims of crimes under international law and other grave human rights violations committed by both sides during the 1996-2006 conflict," he said, adding. "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, which had respectively collected more than 60,000 and 3,000 complaints from victims, failed to resolve a single case in 2023."
Similarly, the AI report states that in March, the government presented to parliament a Bill for the Amendment of the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act (2014) without consulting conflict victims. The Bill failed to comply with a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that would have brought it in line with domestic and international human rights standards, and it appeared to shield alleged perpetrators from prosecution for certain international crimes. At the end of the year, the Bill was still pending in the lower house.
Amid widespread concerns about the government's misuse of amnesty provisions, In November, the Supreme Court overturned a Presidential amnesty for a murderer, ruling that victims' families must consent, according to report.
Thapaliya also said that the report has also found that security forces continued to use unnecessary and excessive force to disperse and detain protesters, resulting in four deaths. Authorities banned TikTok and carried out arrests to limit freedom of expression. Torture and other ill-treatment by security forces were reported, and authorities failed to carry out credible and independent investigations into deaths in custody. Gender-based discrimination continued in law and practice. Migrant workers were subjected to abusive and illegal recruitment practices.
Security forces continued to detain activists and individuals critical of the government and ruling party politicians frequently used unlawful force against protesters.
According to the report, police detained five protesters seeking justice in sexual violence cases in February. Padam Limbu died in March after being struck by a police baton during an Indigenous Peoples protest in Morang district. The government later declared him a "martyr" and promised relief to his family.
Authorities continued to crack down on protests by victims of loan sharks, primarily low-income farmers, who gathered in Kathmandu to demand justice for financial crimes. In April, police used batons and water cannons to injure at least 40 protesters, while at least 20 were arrested.
In May, police detained and mistreated two journalists in Kanchanpur district who were reporting on a police-related clash. In June, police arrested at least 16 activists in Kathmandu protesting against corruption involving government officials allegedly collecting money from hundreds of Nepali nationals under the guise of Bhutanese refugee status and resettlement in high income countries.
In August, police used excessive force against Indigenous Peoples protesters. Many people were detained and assaulted. The Prime Minister announced that those responsible would face punishment, but no charges had been filed by the end of the year. In November, the government prohibited the TikTok app to "protect social harmony and family unity."
In December, one protester was shot dead in Bara district, and two protesters died due to excessive force by police in Lalitpur district.
The report also states that gender discrimination persisted in law and practice. In May, the President approved the Nepal Citizenship (First Amendment) Bill, which denied women equal citizenship rights. However, in September, the Supreme Court declared "triple talaq," or Islamic instant divorce, unconstitutional, which is a positive development for Muslim women.
Despite laws and policies addressing caste discrimination, numerous incidents of discrimination against members of the Dalit community were reported, including by elected officials, with impunity. In December, the West Rukum District Court convicted 26 people for the murder of six men because one of them had a relationship with a girl from a dominant caste.
Moreover, attacks on economic, social and cultural rights also continued, which resulted in hundreds of families living in informal settlements across the country remaining at risk of forced eviction by local authorities without legal safeguards. In March, the
Kathmandu Metropolitan Office issued a directive to people living in slums and informal settlements along the riverbanks in Kathmandu to vacate the areas within a week. The Patan High Court suspended the demolition order and ordered the government, including the Metropolitan Office, to arrange housing for those who would be made homeless as a result of the evictions.
The government also failed to adequately monitor, investigate and sanction the illegal activities of recruitment agencies and agents that charge migrant workers exorbitant fees. Effective measures to prevent, investigate and clarify the deaths of migrant workers, such as through bilateral dialogues with the governments of destination countries, were not taken. Difficulties in accessing the Workers Welfare Fund left many families of deceased migrant workers without support.
In November, an earthquake in Karnali province resulted in more than 150 deaths and damage to some 25,000 homes and other public infrastructure. The government's relief support was inadequate, especially given the harsh winter season, and at least 24 earthquake-affected people living in makeshift tents died.
Additionally, cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment of pretrial detainees continued to be reported with impunity throuhout the year. By the end of the year, there had been no convictions under the 2017 Criminal Code, which criminalized the practice. Furthermore, the authorities failed to investigate and publicize reports of previous investigations into custodial deaths allegedly caused by torture.
In January, three women were beaten brutally by government forest guards for entering a forest to collect grass in Bara district. However, police refused to file a complaint against the alleged officers. Manohar Kumar Pokharel, a human rights defender, was assaulted in July while visiting a detainee at the Saptari district police office. In August, two prisoners died from alleged torture by police officers who guarded them in
Sankhuwasabha Prison. The Sankhuwasabha District Court remanded seven police officers and eight prisoners in the prison while they were on trial for offences relating to the two prisoners' deaths.
