Gustavo Capdevila

Leading civil society groups pressed the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva last week to adopt a resolution condemning the government in Nepal, where hundreds of protesters were arrested Friday.

In a joint statement, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Human Rights Watch called on the UN Commission to take firm action on Nepal and to put in place a strong international mechanism to monitor human rights violations.

ICJ Secretary-General Nicolas Howen said “This is a crucial moment in the history of struggle for democracy and rights in Nepal.” Since King Gyanendra dissolved the government and suspended civil liberties on Feb. 1, there has been no “softening of the state of emergency and the sanctions...but an intensification of the violence against civilians in the conflicts in the countryside,” said Howen.

In November, Howen headed an ICJ mission to Nepal, where he observed a drastic deterioration in human rights, with “brutal action” by the Maoists against civilians, including torture and extrajudicial executions, as well as “systematic violations” by the army and police.

“All the fact-finding missions to Nepal have said the same thing: that the conflict is deepening and that there are gross and systematic violations of human rights on both sides.” On Friday, the anniversary of the establishment of multi-party democracy in 1990, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested in Kathmandu and other cities as they protested the Royal takeover.

Arjun Karki, president of the NGO Federation of Nepal, said in Geneva that “More than 10,000 people have been killed since 1996. And the number of people killed, and arrested and held incommunicado seems to have increased since Feb. 1.” According to Howen, there were already some 900 people “or more” in prison, including politicians and journalists, prior to Friday’s arrests.

Although Howen mentioned that there have been a few releases of prisoners, Loubna Freih, director of Human Rights Watch in Geneva, said the Nepali government has been engaging in “delaying tactics or providing some smoke screen measures such as the release of a few political prisoners here and there.

The Nepali activist called for “strong international support to strengthen democracy and good governance in Nepal.

The human rights groups expressed their support for a draft resolution that would condemn the Nepal government for its abuses, which they said was being lined up by Switzerland. The initiative already has the support of the European Union, especially Britain and Denmark, said Freih.

With respect to the United States, the activist said the government of George W Bush is afraid that heavy pressure on the Nepali authorities could work in favour of the Maoists.

The groups urged the Commission to designate a special rapporteur to report on the human rights situation in Nepal, and to approve a resolution calling for the establishment of a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office in that country.

Meanwhile, the King and his government have “closed all democratic avenues at this stage,” said Freih. —IPS