Continued to Backtrack on Commitments
Amnesty International has expressed its concern over the Nepal continued to backtrack on commitments to hold perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable. The organization highlighted Nepal’s failure to ensure human rights commitment in its annual report entitled “Amnesty International Report 2012: the state of world’s human rights” launched on 24 May 2012.
According to the report, Political parties in government actively subverted justice by demanding the withdrawal of criminal charges in hundreds of cases, including for serious human rights violations committed during the armed conflict. “Torture and other ill-treatment in police custody remained widespread. Police increasingly suppressed Tibetan refugees’ right to freedom of association and expression. Exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers abroad, including forced labour, continued. Ethnic, religious and gender discrimination and violence against women and girls went largely unchallenged”, the report stated.
“Article 5 of Nepal’s CPA provided for the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate alleged human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed during the armed conflict”. However, drafting of a bill to create the Commission had yet to be completed. The government continued to make interim payments to families of “conflict victims”, but failed to fulfill victims’ rights to truth and justice”, report said.
Amnesty International Report 2012: State of the World’s Human Rights, which documents abuses in 155 countries, the organization said that the courage shown by protesters in the past 12 months has been matched by a failure of leadership that makes the UN Security Council seem tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose.
In Nepal, Chairperson of AI Nepal Hem Kumar Khadka made the report public amidst a press conference in Kathmandu while Director of AI Nepal Rameshwar Nepal briefed on the human rights situation of Nepal documented by the report.