Amnesty International (AI), a leading international rights watchdog, has said ten years of war and political instability have turned the human rights situation in Nepal into one of the worst in the world.
In its latest report entitled “A decade of suffering and abuse” made public on Friday, the London-based rights watchdog said the international community has a critical role to play in reversing the decline.
“The people of Nepal have lived through far too much violence already. Without urgent action from the international community and all parties in Nepal, a new generation will grow up knowing nothing but bloodshed and conflict,” said Irene Khan, Secretary General of the Amnesty International.
Secretary General of the Amnesty International Irene Khan (Photo source : answers.com)
There has been a sharp escalation of violence in recent weeks with police using excessive force against those protesting against municipal elections held on 8 February, which were widely seen as an attempt by the King to legitimise his rule. There are fears of further violence as the tenth anniversary of the war — 13 February — draws closer, the statement said.
On top of widespread abuses of human rights related to the conflict, the government has restricted basic civil liberties over the last year, causing the situation to deteriorate further. In the last few weeks more than 1,500 people have been arrested for either organizing or participating in political demonstrations, according to reliable estimates. On 8 March one protester was shot dead by police, the Amnesty said.
More than 12,000 people have died since the Maoists declared a “people’s war” on 13 February 1996. Hundreds more have ‘disappeared’, been tortured, abducted, raped or recruited as child soldiers. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes behind to live in miserable conditions in temporary housing, the statement added.
“Over a decade of conflict we have seen the human rights situation steadily worsen, with increasing numbers of civilian killings and injuries and, for a time, the highest number of reported ‘disappearances’ in the world,” said Irene Khan.
Amnesty International has reiterated its call to the Nepali government to ensure that its security forces are not allowed to get away with killings and other abuses. Perpetrators must be prosecuted and their victims allowed justice. The organization also called on the Maoists to take all possible measures to ensure that civilians are never harmed.
“The international community has a critical role to play in preventing further deterioration of the human rights situation,” said Irene Khan. “They need to continue to pressure the government to respect human rights and to meet their obligations under international law — including by restoring basic freedoms such as the right to peacefully demonstrate.”
The international community should review Nepal’s participation in peacekeeping operations abroad, given what it called the Royal Nepalese Army’s poor human rights record at home, the organization said. Amnesty International reiterated its request of February 2005 and called on those foreign governments that continue to supply weapons to Nepal to impose an arms embargo until the human rights situation has significantly improved.
“It would be easy for this conflict to slip off the political agenda given how long it has been going on, but for the sake of the people of Nepal for whom it is a daily tragic reality, the world must remain engaged and keep up the pressure on the government and the Maoists,” said Irene Khan.
The authorities are yet to comment on the latest statement by the reputed international organisation.