Top UN human rights official in Nepal calls for political stalemate to end

As a nationwide strike in Nepal enters a second day, the top United Nations human rights official in the South Asian country is calling on political leaders to neutralize what could be a potentially violent situation before it hinders the peace process.

“It is increasingly clear that the current situation cannot hold,” said Richard Bennett, the Representative of the UN Human Rights Office in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal).

“Nepal’s political leadership on all sides needs to come together to find a peaceful solution to the current stalemate, and avoid an extended strike that will have a negative impact on the ability of all citizens to exercise their rights.”

The extended strike or “bandh,” which started yesterday, comes amid stalled talks between the Nepalese Government and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M).

The two sides signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006, which ended a decade-long civil war that killed some 13,000 in Nepal. The country’s nearly 240-year-old monarchy was abolished two years later.

The country now faces the challenge of writing a new constitution to replace the interim document currently in place, but that process and peace talks overall have reached a “difficult phase,” according to the UN Special Representative Karin Landgren.

As they had previously announced, the Maoists staged largely peaceful May Day celebrations on Saturday. UN officials are concerned, however, that the situation will become increasingly unpredictable in coming days.

In his statement today, Mr. Bennett noted the large number of children present at demonstrations, “some of them actively participating in enforcing the bandh.”

He was also concerned about complaints by local residents about the impact of the bandh and the “practice of coercing business owners to make donations in support of the demonstrations.”