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Nepal: UN rights office raises concerns over extension of army officer

Nepal: UN rights office raises concerns over extension of army officer

In 2006, the Maoist rebels and Nepalese government signed an historic peace agreement
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) today expressed its serious concern over the decision by the Asian nation’s Government to extend the tenure of an army officer with ties to breaches of human rights.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) today expressed its serious concern over the decision by the Asian nation’s Government to extend the tenure of an army officer with ties to breaches of human rights.

OHCHR issued a report in 2006 on its investigation into torture, arbitrary detention and disappearances carried out at Maharajgunj Barracks, which was under the control of a battalion led by then-Lieutenant Colonel Raju Basnet in 2003-2004 during the conflict between Government forces and Maoists.

The Office, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other human rights bodies have repeatedly called for fully independent investigations into the alleged violations committed in the barracks and other incidents which occurred during the decade-long civil war which claimed some 13,000 lives.

Those working for the State against whom there are credible allegations of involvement in rights violations should be suspended pending investigations, the Office recommended.

Extending the tenure of Mr. Basnet, now a Colonel, by two years without properly looking into what happened at Maharajgunj “is a backward step in ensuring justice for the victims of conflict-related human rights violations,” said Anthony Cardon, interim head of OHCHR-Nepal said.

The Office also urged the Government to reconsider the army officer’s term extension and to ensure that no other people implicated in rights breaches have their tenures extended or are promoted until full, transparent and impartial investigations are concluded.

It is time for the Government and others to take concrete measures to make certain that perpetrators of rights violations committed during the conflict are brought to justice, OHCHR-Nepal stressed.

“Lack of accountability for those army officials implicated in alleged past human rights violations not only damages the institutional credibility of the Nepal Army but also sends a message to the public that there are no consequences for the perpetrators of human rights violations,” it said in a press release.