Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala about reports that the government of Nepal has authorized the use of lethal force to suppress protests associated with the Olympic torch.

We wish to express our grave concerns regarding restrictions imposed by your government on the rights of non-refoulement, movement, assembly, and expression of the Tibetan community in Nepal. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the government of Nepal is responsible for the protection of the human rights of any individual living within its borders.

We are writing on December 18, 2007, International Migrants’ Day, to call upon you to implement key reforms to respect and uphold migrants’ rights. On January 21-22, 2008, the United Arab Emirates will host the latest round of the “Colombo Process,” a series of regional consultative processes focused on Asian contract migrant workers. We believe this meeting could provide an important stepping stone to establishing regional minimum standards regarding recruitment, employment, and protection of migrant workers.

As you undertake your new responsibilities as a cabinet member in the interim Nepali government, Human Rights Watch recognizes the important challenges before you in addressing the situation of women and children following years of armed conflict. We share your hopes for a peaceful, democratic future for Nepal and its people.

Human Rights Watch is gravely concerned by anti-gay rhetoric and violence targeting people because of their presumed sexual orientation or the exercise of their sexual autonomy on the part of the Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist. The most recent example of attacks by Maoists was the abductions in Sunsari of a woman and a teenage girl accused of having a sexual relationship with one another, accompanied by Maoist efforts to force them to become soldiers.

Human Rights Watch released today a letter to the leaders of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives urging them to make the promotion and protection of human rights a priority for the SAARC summit meeting on April 3-4 in New Delhi.

As a group of non-governmental organizations with a long-term involvement with the Bhutanese refugees – through advocacy on behalf of this community as well as in humanitarian service delivery and support – we would like to raise a number of concerns with you in advance of the Round Table meeting of Bhutan’s development partners to be held in Geneva on 15
February 2006.

Human Rights Watch is gravely concerned by a continuing pattern of arbitrary arrest and police violence against metis (men by birth who identify as women, and might in different cultural circumstances be called transgender people), men who have sex with men, and activists for sexual rights in Kathmandu. We urge you to intervene to ensure that allegations of police abuse are fully investigated; that any persons presently in detention be swiftly released; that persons found responsible for abuse are punished; and that police and other criminal-justice officials are trained in respect for all people’s human rights, including the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.