The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has said that she is shocked by the excessive use of force by security forces in Nepal, as well as the extensive use of arbitrary detention in violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
High Commissioner Arbour further said, “Now violence has mounted, despite the efforts of my Office in Nepal to urge restraint on both demonstrators and security forces. On Tuesday our human rights officers witnessed the most excessive use of force to date against demonstrators in Kathmandu by members of the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police, and the toll of serious injuries added to three fatal shootings around the country has risen alarmingly.”
Nearly 90 pro-democracy activists were injured when security forces opened fire to the protestors in Gongabu area of Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Five pro-democracy activists have been killed, hundreds injured and over 1000 have been arrested from protests around the country since last week.
She reminded the government its international obligation to respect the right of peaceful assembly, and said, “I remind its security forces of their obligation to use only minimum necessary force even when faced with demonstrators throwing rocks and other projectiles.”
Stating that Nepal’s Police and Armed Police Force have helped the United Nations uphold the rule of law in its peace operations, she further said, “But I must make clear that my commitment to provide the Department of Peacekeeping Operations with information regarding individuals implicated in human rights violations extends to them as much as it does to the Royal Nepalese Army.”
The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal has expressed grave concern over the arrests of demonstrators during the general strike carried out by the seven opposition political parties and asked the government to respect the right of the people to protest peacefully.
The government however continuing its repressive measures against protestors neglecting repeated calls from rights bodies and international communities not to do so. nepalnews.com pb Apr 13 06