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Summary: The Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is to
set up a monitoring operation in Nepal in a
move to help establish accountability for
human rights abuses and prevent further
violations.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) is to set up a monitoring operation in Nepal in a move to help
establish accountability for human rights abuses and prevent further
violations.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and Ramesh Nath
Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of His Majesty's Government
of Nepal, signed the agreement establishing the operation today. The
agreement is to be implemented immediately and planning is already
well-advanced to ensure the early start-up of operations and deployment
of human rights officers for the monitoring.
It is foreseen that OHCHR field offices will be set-up at the regional
level in order to ensure rapid response to reports of human rights
violations. The High Commissioner said she hoped human rights monitoring
under United Nations auspices would be an important step in establishing
accountability for human rights abuses and helping prevent serious human
rights violations resulting from the nine-year old armed conflict.
"Breaking the cycle of serious and systematic abuses will be the first
essential step toward achieving peace and reconciliation in Nepal", Mrs.
Arbour said.
The agreement provides for the establishment of an OHCHR Office in Nepal
that will "monitor the observance of human rights and international
humanitarian law, bearing in mind the climate of violence and the internal
armed conflict in the country". Based on the information collected by the
office, the High Commissioner for Human Rights will submit periodic
analytic reports on any human rights violations committed by either side
of the conflict to the Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly,
and the Secretary-General. The Office will also advise His Majesty's
Government on matters related to the promotion and protection of human
rights in Nepal and will provide advisory services and human rights
support to representatives of civil society, human rights non-governmental
organizations and individuals.
Under the agreement, the Office will "engage all relevant actors,
including non- state actors, for the purpose of ensuring the observance of
relevant international human rights and humanitarian law". The OHCHR
monitors will seek the cooperation of both the security forces and the
CPN-Maoists to ensure that all human rights violations, wherever they
occur, are investigated and reported on. The agreement also stipulates
that the OHCHR Office will maintain "impartiality, independence,
objectivity and transparency" in all its work. It is expected that the
Office will work closely with local human rights defenders, including the
press, in carrying out its investigations.