A US-based human rights watchdog has said that the human rights situation in Nepal improved markedly after April change.
In its World Report 2007, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that “civilian casualties directly caused by the conflict dramatically declined, as did human rights abuses such as extrajudicial execution, arbitrary detention, and torture.”
The report adds that the removal of restrictions imposed by King Gyanendra after seizing power on February 1, 2005, also significantly improved the ability of Nepalese to exercise freedom of speech and association.
However, the report takes note of complaints made by the human rights activists of Nepal that the peace agreement did not create any effective monitoring or implementation mechanisms to address violations by both sides.
“The issue was particularly relevant because both warring parties, and particularly the Maoists, regularly violated the letter and spirit of the ceasefire code of conduct they had signed on May 26, 2006. Despite changes in leadership, the Nepali Army failed to cooperate with investigations about the fate of hundreds of “disappeared” Nepalese and the government failed to properly investigate or prosecute a single case of extrajudicial execution, “disappearances”, and torture,” the report states.
The report criticises Maoist forces for not releasing any of the thousands of children under age 18 believed to be serving in their ranks and ongoing recruitment campaigns throughout the country.
“Their (Maoists) commitment to the contrary notwithstanding, the Maoists continued to intimidate and restrict the activity of political activists from competing political parties, including more than a dozen cases in which political activists were allegedly killed by Maoist cadres throughout Nepal.”
The report also notes that concerted international pressure made a difference in promoting greater respect for human rights by both government forces and by the Maoists, “both of which curtailed some of their worst behavior in order to maintain international support.”