Kathmandu: The UN on Sunday asked Nepal to
establish a high-level commission to address issues of forced
disappearances and the reconciliation process as part of the
landmark peace process in the country.
Richard Bennett, the representative of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, met Prime Minister
Madhav Kumar Nepal today and underlined the importance of
establishing the Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances and
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as part of the peace
process.
The top UN officials referred to a letter OHCHR sent
to the Prime Minister in July 2009 regarding the need for
follow up on matters highlighted in various human rights
reports, including the report of investigation into arbitrary
detention, torture and disappearances at Maharajgunj Nepal
Army barracks, Kathmandu, in 2003-2004 and report on Conflict
Related Disappearances in Bardiya-2008.
Both the Nepal Army and the Maoists have been accused
of involvement in forced disappearances during the decade-long
civil war, which came to an end after a 2006 peace deal
facilitated by the interim government led by GP Koirala.
"I welcome the Prime Minister’s assurance that he
would take concrete steps to address serious human rights
violations and to end impunity," Bennett told reporters after
meeting Nepal at his residence.
Bennett said the OHCHR- Nepal supports the
"cooperation of all parties, through the
Legislature-Parliament, to move forward on key human rights
commitments essential to the peace process."
He discussed a wide range of human rights issue ahead
of the the Prime Minister`s forthcoming visit to the USA to
attend the UN General Assembly meeting.
The top UN official welcomed his recent announcement
of a campaign to eliminate gender based violence and
strengthen the law and human rights division within his
office.
A stepped up political agitation by the Maoists has
put new stresses on Nepal`s reconciliation efforts after the
end of the decade-long insurgency in 2006, amid fears that the
stalled peace process may be derailed if the agitation by the
former rebels is not ended soon.
The Maoists have been blocking the Parliament and
organising protest rallies in the capital since Prachanda
suddenly resigned as Prime Minister on May 4 after the
President Ram Baran Yadav reinstated General Katawal, the Army
Chief dismissed by Maoists supremo.
Bureau Report
