5 July 2012. Ms. Juliette Thibaud of the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) speaks about the deteriorating human rights condition of Nepal in the 20th Session of UN Human Rights Council. Based on the reports of torture and other violations recorded by Advocacy Forum (AF) Ms. Thibaud pointed at the endemic impunity the country is severely ailing from and typically aggravated by the current political impasse.
Please view the oral statement below by Ms. Juliette Thibaud:
date: June 28, 2012
HRC section: Item 4, General Debate
Speaker: Ms. Juliette Thibaud
Thank you Madam President,
In Nepal, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly without having produced a new constitution and growing political instability, threaten security gains and human rights, as noted by the High Commissioner this session.
Serious human rights violations, notably caste-based and gender-motivated violence, continue to be documented and are insufficiently addressed. In the first half of 2012, according to Advocacy Forum 25.6 per cent of interviewed men and 15.6 per cent of women detainees reported being tortured. Given the lack of reforms, notably to the police, these violations have typically resulted in impunity, which the current situation will only prolong and reinforce.
No notable progress has been made to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for torture, rape, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances during the conflict. In the absence of a parliament to establish transitional justice institutions, we urge the government to commit to effectively investigate and prosecute cases that have been registered with the police so far.
Heightened tensions and social and political fragmentation in the country, risks to human rights defenders and journalists, and increased repression of demonstrations accompanied by restrictions to the freedom of expression, are all of grave concern, notably given the closure of the OHCHR’s country office in late 2011.
