Human Rights activists have warned that the upcoming meeting of the European Union (EU) Parliament and the 62nd session of the United Nations Convention on Human Rights may announce sanctions against Nepal as the rights situation of the country was deteriorating in the recent days.

Speaking at a programme in the capital on Saturday, chairman of the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) Subodh Pyakurel, said, “EU countries and UN member states can announce smart sanctions against Nepal owing to the country’s turn of events.”

The UN convention in Geneva could also decide on the Royal Nepalese Army’s role in UN peacekeeping missions, he said, adding that dialogue between the two parties to the conflict is the only way out of the crisis.

Sudip Pathak, member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), however, urged the EU Parliament and UN member states to refrain from imposing sanctions against the country.

He commented that the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal is not complete.

He also claimed that some rights activists of the country are presenting distorted facts about the rights situation of the country at the international level and urged them to stop such acts.

“Such targeted sanctions will ultimately affect civilians,” Pathak said. He was displeased with the possibility of the UN convention barring Nepal’s security forces from participating in UN peacekeeping missions. However, if the UN decides so, “I request the authorities to allow the NHRC to forward letters to the UN verifying whether the concerned security personnel are human rights perpetrators,” he said.

Former NHRC member Kapil Shrestha said the UN convention may not bring Nepal under ‘Item 9.’ He, however, said sanctions cannot be ruled out. Expressing concern over the country’s current situation, he wondered if “we are under medieval rule.”

The rights activists also condemned the death of the joint regional administrator of the eastern region, Prem Prasad Sapkota, in Maoist custody and called on the rebels to take responsibility for it.

Rights activist Birendra Keshari Pokhrel said that civil society should strongly raise voices against the Maoists atrocities adding they are committing serious rights violations.