Human Rights Watch (HRW) honoured a Nepali human rights activist with its highest honour on November 2 along with two other human rights defenders from Mexico and Zimbabwe.

General secretary of the Advocacy Forum, Mandira Sharma, is the first Nepali human rights activist to receive this prestigious award given by the international human rights organisation.

Sharma was honoured with the award during the 2006 Human Rights Watch Annual Dinners in New York.

Sharma exposes “disappearances” and indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Nepal, the press statement of the world human rights watchdog said.

Her efforts have been critical to the pursuit of justice for abuses committed by both the then Royal Nepalese Army and Maoist rebels during the decade long insurgency. In the face of entrenched ineptitude and corruption in the Nepali court system, Sharma continues to file and win cases on behalf of human rights activists who have been arbitrarily detained, tortured, and “disappeared.”

She also conducts advocacy to raise awareness about these widespread human rights violations and engages in grassroots outreach to educate the public about their legal rights.

“Mandira and her colleagues are struggling to make sure that any peace talks address the needs and demands of the Nepali people, not just their political leaders,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia research director for Human Rights Watch. “Mandira and Advocacy Forum stand for justice, and bitter experience from around the world shows that peace without justice is illusory,” he added.