UN human rights chief urges Nepal's Government and rebels to sign rights accord

The top United Nations human rights official today called on the Nepalese Government and Maoist insurgents to sign an agreement on human rights as an important step to achieving peace in the war-torn Himalayan kingdom.

Speaking in Kathmandu, the capital, at the end of a three-day visit, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said the Nepalese people were being subjected to violence and brutality on a staggering scale as a result of the armed conflict.

Widespread disappearances, executions and torture must come to an end immediately, she added, calling for effective and credible measures to bring to account those responsible for such acts.

In December, the UN Commission on Human Rights' Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances called on the Government to institute such measures as a total ban on incommunicado detention and full protection for human rights workers. Although the group's mandate is restricted to the obligations of state authorities, it also called on the Maoists to respect human rights.