25 December 2021, Dhangadi: On 25 December 2021, Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF) and International Commissions of Jurists (ICJ) organized an interaction program in Dhangadi, Kailali with an aim to discuss human rights aspects in the Sudurpaschim Provincial Police Bill. The representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, Sudurpaschim, Provincial Office of National Human Rights Commission, Sudurpashcim, District Police Office, Kailali, Provincial Police Office, Kailali District Bar Association and several media houses were present in the program.
Shedding light on the objective of the interaction, Om Prakash Sen Thakuri, Executive Director of AF stated that to strengthen criminal justice system in Nepal, the basic principles of human rights need to be incorporated in the legislation that binds law enforcement agencies.
While facilitating the program, National Legal Advisor of ICJ, Advocate Kashiram Dhungana explained the set of recommendations on including aspects of human rights and accountability into law. In this regard, Dhungana shared that AF together with other HR organizations has prepared and submitted a set of recommendations on how can components of human rights and accountability be incorporated in the laws related to law enforcement agencies.
Highlighting the provisions mentioned in the Bill, the Chief Attorney General of Sudurpashcim Province, Kulnanda Upadhyay stated that the Bill includes provisions on the formation, classification, ranks and divisions of the provincial police force. Similarly, Upadhyay highlighted the duties of provincial police in maintaining peace and order, protecting the lives and property of the citizens, and cooperating and coordinating with concerned agencies among others.
In the next session, the participants commented on the presented Bill. Few participants remarked that the Bill seemed an exact copy of the Federal Police Act as it does not include the provisions related to various local-level governments such as Rural municipalities, Municipalities, Metropolitans etc. The participants suggested that investigation bureaus need to be established at the provincial level as well. Furthermore, training on human rights should be provided to the police officials from the beginning and while doing so, traditional methods of training should be avoided, the participants added.
Responding to the opinions put forward by the participants, Purna Joshi, Province Minister of Internal Affairs and Law stated that she will suggest the Legislative Committee of the Province amend the Bill after rigorous discussion with police, human rights lawyers/activists and journalists.
To bring about reforms in the overall criminal justice system, AF has been actively engaging with stakeholders of the criminal justice system.
