Kathmandu, Apr. 5: “His Majesty’s Government is at the final stage of establishing an independent National Human Rights Commission,” Minister for Foreign Affairs  Chakra Prasad Bastola said while addressing the 56th session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva Tuesday.

Minister Bastola said, “the United Nations, ever since its inception, has been instrumental in shaping the desire of the international community in matters of protecting and preserving human rights.”

Referring to enhanced people’s awareness on human rights as a result of the rapid development taking place in the field of communications technology, he said that human rights had been recognised as universal values.

Stating that human beings should have the opportunity to enjoy their rights without fear and pursue their lives in a befitting manner, the Foreign Minister said that as this had not been the case on many occasions, international community should redouble its effort to address this problem.

“Human rights enshrined in various instruments cannot be fully enjoyed in an environment where extreme poverty persists,” Minister Bastola said, adding that investment in the human resources development and social sector and creating safety nets for the most vulnerable groups of the society was a must for reducing poverty.

Noting that the choice of the topic “Poverty and the enjoyment of human rights” as the theme for the special dialogue during the ongoing session of the commission was very pertinent, he called for debt relief measures and generous economic assistance to the least developed and landlocked countries including Nepal to make all sets of human rights an enjoyable reality.

His Majesty’s Government (hmg) was fully committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and a party to the sixteen human rights instruments, Foreign Minister Bastola said, adding: “The present constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal guarantees the basic law, constitutional monarchy, multi-party democracy, independence of judiciary and fundamental human rights as the basic structure of the constitution which are not subject to amendment.”

Abolition of the death penalty and legislative initiatives to eliminate inequality between men and women in matters of inheritance were some of the   other steps being undertaken by hmg in recent times, he noted.

Trafficking in children, young women and child labour had been a serious problem in our region including Nepal and though Nepal had adopted various measures to check the menace, innocent people had often been prey to unscrupulous elements due to extreme poverty and lack of awareness, he added.

Minister Bastola also had a meeting with the un secretary general Mr Kofi Annan, according the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Nepal to the un.

Minister Bastola also informed the Commission that hmg of Nepal was going to host the Asia-Pacific conference on the use of children’s soldiers in Kathmandu from May 15 to 18, 2000.