KATHMANDU, March 22 (Reuters)
Nepal's fledgling peace process could be derailed if the government failed to protect human rights and punish abusers, the UN's rights panel chief said on Sunday.
The Himalayan nation ended a decade-long civil war nearly three years ago - a conflict during which both army and Maoist rebels were blamed for abuses such as arbitrary arrests, torture, disappearances and killings.
The rebels signed a peace deal in 2006 and won a surprise election victory last year. Their leader Prachanda is now heading a coalition government, the first after Nepal abolished the 239-year-old monarchy and became a republic.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, met the families of alleged victims of human rights violations and heard their stories.
"The families...want the truth so they can have a sense of closure; they need reparations so they can start rebuilding their lives; and, most of all, they want justice," Pillay said in a statement.
"And until these demands for justice are fulfilled and accountability for past, and in particular ongoing, violations is ensured...the peace process could be jeopardised."
More than 13,000 people were killed and tens of thousands injured and displaced during the rebellion.Pillay met Prachanda, who promised to end impunity and discrimination, and ensure respect for human rights.
"I told him that the Human Rights Council in Geneva is also following closely the progress his government is making to fulfil that commitment," Pillay told reporters before leaving for a visit to India.
"Nepal has the real possibility to grasp the historic opportunity to prove itself as a leader in implementing its human rights commitments," she said
Showing posts with label UNCHR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNCHR. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Justice urged for Nepal's abused
By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Kathmandu
The United Nations human rights chief has told the people of Nepal that without justice, peace is impossible.
Navanethem Pillay was speaking during her first official visit to Nepal.
The country was the scene of widespread human rights violations during the 10-year conflict between the government and Maoist rebels which ended in 2006.
Political disappearances, killings and torture were all common during the war, with perpetrators on both the state and rebel sides.
Many victims were civilians with nothing to do with the conflict.
Deluged
Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reminded civil society delegates that not a single person had yet been prosecuted for such violations - and that abuses had continued even since the conflict formally ended, naming two recent examples.
"Until someone is held accountable for past violations, serious crimes like the killing of journalist Uma Singh and businessman Ram Hari Shrestha will continue and the peace process will be at threat," she said.
There was a deluge of petitions and questions to her.
A man in a wheelchair said disabled people were ignored in Nepal.
Several Dalits, formerly known as "untouchables", lamented that there was no law protecting their rights.
Others argued for the cause of Muslim women, Tibetan or Bhutanese refugees and the indigenous groups who make up more than one-third of Nepal's population.
As Nepal, now led by the Maoists, draws up a new constitution, a whole gamut of groups are clamouring for their rights.
Ms Pillay said she was struck by their "passion" and would take a raft of social and political rights concerns to the highest world bodies. Human rights, she said, must be fundamental to Nepal's peace process.
BBC News, Kathmandu
The United Nations human rights chief has told the people of Nepal that without justice, peace is impossible.
Navanethem Pillay was speaking during her first official visit to Nepal.
The country was the scene of widespread human rights violations during the 10-year conflict between the government and Maoist rebels which ended in 2006.
Political disappearances, killings and torture were all common during the war, with perpetrators on both the state and rebel sides.
Many victims were civilians with nothing to do with the conflict.
Deluged
Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reminded civil society delegates that not a single person had yet been prosecuted for such violations - and that abuses had continued even since the conflict formally ended, naming two recent examples.
"Until someone is held accountable for past violations, serious crimes like the killing of journalist Uma Singh and businessman Ram Hari Shrestha will continue and the peace process will be at threat," she said.
There was a deluge of petitions and questions to her.
A man in a wheelchair said disabled people were ignored in Nepal.
Several Dalits, formerly known as "untouchables", lamented that there was no law protecting their rights.
Others argued for the cause of Muslim women, Tibetan or Bhutanese refugees and the indigenous groups who make up more than one-third of Nepal's population.
As Nepal, now led by the Maoists, draws up a new constitution, a whole gamut of groups are clamouring for their rights.
Ms Pillay said she was struck by their "passion" and would take a raft of social and political rights concerns to the highest world bodies. Human rights, she said, must be fundamental to Nepal's peace process.
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