Nepal: UN condemns murder of businessman by Maoists

The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has condemned the recent killing of a local businessman, Ram Hari Shrestha, after Maoist army commanders acknowledged to the mission that the murder was committed by members of their group.

UNMIN condemned the killing as a serious breach of the commitments made in an agreement on monitoring arms and armies reached between the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist) and the former Government, and also noted that it was a violation of fundamental human rights.

UNMIN arms monitors have conducted a preliminary inquiry and will present the results to the next meeting of Nepal’s Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee.

UNMIN has been informed that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is following the investigation that is being carried out by the police.

UNMIN calls on the CPN (Maoist) to cooperate fully with the police to ensure that all those responsible for ordering or carrying out the abduction or killing are apprehended and punished in accordance with the law.

Last month, with the assistance of UNMIN, Nepal held country-wide elections for a new Constituent Assembly.