Kathmandu, Feb 17: Nepalese Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa has said the government is facing serious challenges in implementing policy measures to safeguard human rights in the face of the continued violence by the Maoists. ''These days we are facing not only a great challenge of maintaining law and order in the society but also of maintaining the respect for human rights,'' Thapa said while inaugurating the three-day 8th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) in Kathmandu. The Prime Minister stressed that the government was fully serious about the preservation of human rights and ''We will keep continuing our respect for human rights in the days to come.'' The meeting is being held in Kathmandu at a time when there have been reports of human rights violation both by the government and the Maoists. ''With a deep realisation of needs to improve the human rights situation and in follow-up to the call of the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, Nepal is in the final stage of formulation of national human rights action plan in order to identify steps whereby the country will respect, promote, protect and fulfil human rights in a strategic and systematic way,'' he said. Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Nayan Bahadur Khatri proposed the formation of a regional human rights court and human rights commission on the occasion. ''I propose that we, at least, initiate discussion amongst ourselves on the prospect of achieving a regional human rights document, a regional human rights commission and most importantly, a regional human rights court.'' About 125 participants from 12 member countries of the Asia Pacific region, including India, are attending the meeting. The meeting will discuss the Asia Pacific regional cooperation in the area of human rights, prevention of torture, the rule of law and anti-terrorist measures, balancing human rights protection and security concern. Establishment of international disability convention, optional protocol to the UN Convention against torture, rule of law and anti terrorism measures human rights protections and security concern, trafficking, death penalty and child pornography are the major agenda of discussion during the meeting. Bureau Report