The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called on the Nepali Government and the House of Representatives to make 19 changes to the draft Army Act, which is currently being considered by parliament.
In a 28-page report entitled, “Nepal: Recommendations for amendments to the draft Army Act” released Thursday, the ICJ said, “While we agree with the importance of bringing the army under civilian political control as swiftly as possible, this Bill is of too great national importance for a poor text to be adopted in haste.”
The ICJ report identifies two principal areas of concern. “The Bill entrenches rather than ends the impunity of the armed forces for serious human rights violations and fails to provide anyone arrested, detained and tried by a Court Marital a range of internationally accepted fair trial guarantees,” the report adds.
The report further said, “The Bill grants members of the Nepal Army an almost blanket immunity from prosecution for human rights violations and creates a range of procedural rules that can also be used to avoid prosecution for such crimes in civilian courts and even in military courts.”
The report further said the bill fails to ensure that the jurisdiction of Courts Martial will be limited to internal military offences and that all other crimes, including serious human rights violations, such as torture, rape, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, will be tried by an ordinary civilian court.
The Bill also fails to provide adequate safeguards to anyone arrested, detained or tried by the military.
“As a judicial body, the Courts Martial set up under the Bill do not meet the test of competence, independence and impartiality required by the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Nepal has ratified,” the report further said.
The Army bill tabled at the parliament has also been facing criticism from rights activists, saying the bill will promote the culture of impunity in the country.