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Nepal
in Crisis 2006: Human Rights
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Ending
impunity should be taken seriously by the government - UN
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Kathmandu,
21 Dec 2006 (IRIN)
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The
Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in
Nepal has expressed serious concerns over the lack of effective measures
to address impunity in the country.
"There
is still an opportunity for the government to demonstrate to the Nepalese
people and the international community that it is serious about ending
impunity by holding human rights violators accountable for their actions,"
said Lena Sundh, head of OHCHR-Nepal. |
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On
Thursday, Sundh released a report on the torture and death of 15-year-old
girl Maina Sunuwar at the hands of three Nepalese Army (NA) officers in
2004 on suspicion of working as a Maoist rebel.
After
her arbitrary arrest from her village in Kavrepalanchowk, 80 km south of
the capital, she was taken to the army training centre of Panchkhal in
the capital where she was killed after nearly 90 minutes of severe torture,
the report said.
Although
the NA found the officers guilty in a court martial, they were subsequently
given short prison sentences, something which OHCHR resolutely condemns
as failing to provide any justice for the victim.
"OHCHR-Nepal
maintains that the results of the court martial were wholly inadequate
and rather than serving as a deterrent to future criminal acts by the security
forces would likely encourage such abuses," said the report, which added
that the NA had done everything to cover up the gravity of abuses.
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Villagers in Benimanipur
The
NA had constantly refused to provide OHCHR-Nepal with copies of Publications
associated with the court of inquiry board and court martial.
"OHCHR-Nepal
does not believe that the NA investigations constitute an independent,
transparent and complete inquiry, and continues to call for an independent
investigation and prosecution of this case in a civilian court," the report
said. |
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The
report was published with the aim of illustrating the many obstacles that
victims of human rights violations face while seeking redress, Sundh explained.
This
particular case makes clear how impunity has yet to be addressed in any
effective way by the Nepalese government, local human rights activists
said.
Sunuwar's
mother Devi has been trying to find justice for her innocent daughter.
"I have constantly approached senior army officials [and asked them for]
justice but they have always turned a deaf ear," Devi said.
Sundh
said that it was essential for the authorities to ensure that justice was
finally done in the case of the innocent young Sunuwar by reopening the
case in a civilian court so that other cases of serious human rights abuses
would not be similarly blocked from the civilian courts in the future.
Meanwhile,
OHCHR-Nepal remains concerned about the apparent lack of political will
on the part of the government to hold accountable members of the security
forces suspected of involvement in human rights violations.
Credit:
IRIN 2006
Copyright
© UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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