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Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa
Prime Minister’s Office
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu

Dear Prime Minister:

We are writing to express our grave concern about the deepening human rights crisis in Nepal following the April 8 ban on all political gatherings in Kathmandu, which has led to the arbitrary arrests of thousands of protestors and credible reports of ill-treatment of detainees. The government’s ban on protests, and the subsequent crackdown on protestors, violate Nepal’s obligations under international law. We urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that Nepal meets its international obligations by ending the ban on protests and curbing the security services’ powers of arrest and detention.

Since the beginning of April, there have been “anti-regression” demonstrations in Kathmandu led by the five main political parties. The demonstrations have involved thousands of people marching peacefully along prescribed paths in the heart of the city. In response to these demonstrations, the government enacted the current ban on assembly; since then, thousands of protestors have been arrested and detained. Among those arrested have been journalists, lawyers, human rights monitors, students, teachers, medical workers, and members of political parties. Prominent figures, such as former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, have been arrested, as have simple bystanders including small children. There is no indication that the arrests are abating; Human Rights Watch has received reliable reports that on April 21, several hundred lawyers and journalists were arrested, and that the police exercised excessive force, including tear gassing entrances to the emergency wards of Kathmandu Model Hospital.

Government actions restricting the rights to peaceful expression, assembly and association since the start of the demonstrations far exceed what is permissible under international law. The declaration on April 8 of Kathmandu valley as a “riot prone” zone under the Local Administration Act, which bars the assembly of more than five persons, is an unjustifiable restriction on the right to assembly. Furthermore, the sweeping powers granted to the police on April 8 to arrest anyone engaging in “suspicious behaviour,” as allowed by the Local Administrative Act, allow for excessively broad and unpredictable interpretations of the law, and creates a cover of impunity for arbitrary mass arrests.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Nepal is a party, guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association. The only restrictions that may be placed on freedom of assembly and expression are those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Any restrictions must be limited to what is necessary and proportionate—the manner and intensity of state interference must be necessary to attain a legitimate purpose, and the prohibition or forceful breaking up of an assembly may only be considered when milder means have failed. The actions taken by your government in past weeks far exceed permissible restrictions recognized under international law.

On March 26, you held a press conference in which you promised to protect these very same rights, and to ensure that the government would abide by its obligations under international human rights law. Your Foreign Minister reiterated this pledge to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva on the same day. The ban on protests and the attendant mass arrests, coming within weeks of your public pledge, casts doubt on the sincerity of the government’s commitments. Similarly, the powers granted on April 8 to the Nepali security services have allowed them to arbitrarily detain thousands of persons and deny them access to legal representatives and family members, in contradiction of Nepal’s international obligations.

The Nepali security services have long been criticized for their abuse of power, which has resulted in widespread arbitrary arrests, the “disappearance” of arrested persons, use of torture in detention, and the summary executions of detainees. Such abuses have been documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal, the U.S. State Department, and many other impartial organizations. Granting the Nepali security services even broader and ill-defined powers has worsened existing patterns of abuse.

Those who are arrested have been held in overcrowded and unhygienic detention centres, sometimes for several days, without access to clean drinking water, food or medical treatment. Both Nepali law and the ICCPR require that anyone arrested shall promptly be brought before a judge and informed of charges against him or her. Human Rights Watch has received reports that many people have been held for as many as five days incommunicado in such inappropriate conditions. The government must abide by its international obligations to ensure that conditions of detention are adequate and humane, and that those arrested are given the right to contact lawyers and family members.

Human Rights Watch has also confirmed reports that members of People’s Front Nepal (PFN), a legal left-of-center party, are systematically being separated from other detainees, which raises concerns about the conditions of their detention and possible ill-treatment. These detainees are being held under the Public Security Act, which allows for preventive detention for up to 90 days, with a possible extension of up to 12 months, while authorities investigate alleged criminal offences. Human Rights Watch calls on your government to immediately investigate this situation and remedy it.

The National Human Rights Commission and other human rights organisations are being denied access to these places of detention. We urge you to abide by your public pledge of March 26 to provide all necessary assistance to the NHRC, including allowing it unfettered access to all places where people are being detained by the government.

Mr. Prime Minister, your promise to “adopt the necessary measures for the prevention of the violation of rights and to hold accountable those responsible for such violations” was welcomed both by Nepal’s citizens and by the international community. In light of the current political crisis, it is all the more imperative that you now stand firm by your commitment and act assertively to protect these very important civil and political rights.

Thank you for your consideration of these very serious matters. We look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,

Brad Adams
Executive Director
Asia Division

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