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VIII. Recommendations

To the government of Nepal

1. Acknowledge at the highest level responsibility for large-scale “disappearances,” and take all steps necessary to bring an end to the widespread practice of “disappearances,” extrajudicial and summary executions, and unlawful arrest and detention. Ensure that military, police, and other security forces comply in full with the requirements of international human rights and humanitarian law.
2. Repeal or revise laws that undermine constitutionally guaranteed protections against human rights violations, such as the Public Security Act, the Public Offense and Punishment Act, the Anti-State Crimes and Penalties Act, and TADO.
3. Take measures to prevent enforced disappearances, including:

• Cease the practice of secret detention and of holding detainees in military barracks and other unofficial places of detention. Ensure that all persons detained by security forces are held at recognized places of detention, and that arresting officers identify themselves and present official identification.
• All places of detention must maintain records regarding every detainee, including the date, time, and location of arrest, the name of the detainee, the reason for detention, and the name of the forces effecting the detention. The records must be available to detainees' families, counsel, and other legitimately interested persons. All transfers of detainees should be reflected in the records.

• Detainees should be informed immediately of the reasons for arrest and any charges against them. The family should be informed promptly of the arrest and location of the detainee. Any persons detained by the security forces must be allowed contact with family and unhindered access to legal counsel.

• Uphold the detainee’s constitutional right to be brought before a judicial authority within twenty-four hours of arrest (or within a reasonable time if arrested in a remote location).

4. Take all necessary steps to establish accountability for those who order and carry out “disappearances,” as well as other abuses of human rights and humanitarian law.

• Introduce legislation making “disappearance” a criminal offense that is punishable by sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the crime.

• Discipline or prosecute as appropriate all those implicated for participation in abuses in accordance with international due process standards.

• Hold superior officers, whether civilian or military, criminally accountable if they knew, or should have known, that forces under their command had committed or were about to commit criminal acts, and nothing was done to prevent such commission.

5. Investigate all cases of enforced disappearance, including those documented in this report. Ensure that each “disappearance” is investigated until the fate of the victim is clearly and publicly established. Ensure that the Committee for the Investigation of Alleged Disappearances of Persons by the State has relevant authority to conduct prompt, independent, and impartial investigations into “disappearances.” Toward this end:

• Authorize the Committee to obtain information from any state agencies, including the military, about the whereabouts and status of the “disappeared.”

• Provide the Committee with investigative powers to search unannounced and unaccompanied security force facilities and records related to the “disappearance.”

• Empower the Committee to compel the attendance of those implicated in carrying out or ordering the “disappearances,” and to compel the disclosure and production of documents.

• Instruct the Committee to keep the families of the “disappeared” informed of the progress of its investigations.

6. Ensure and promote the Supreme Court’s ability to use its constitutionally vested powers to enforce fundamental rights. The court must promptly examine and pursue each valid habeas corpus petition and designate a proper officer of the court to enforce habeas corpus. Non-compliance with the Court’s orders should be subject to sanctions.
7. Order the Home Ministry and the Defense Ministry to promptly respond to inquiries and comply with all habeas corpus orders issued by the courts.
8. Provide redress for the families of those who have “disappeared” in the form of monetary compensation as well as counseling and social assistance programs.
9. Strengthen the structural and operational independence of the National Human Rights Commission. Instruct all governmental agencies, including the Home Ministry and the Defense Ministry, to cooperate with the NHRC’s investigations into allegations of violations of human rights and humanitarian law by the security forces, including enforced disappearances. Provide adequate funding and staffing for the NHRC, ensuring that the NHRC receives unfettered access to the technical assistance of the United Nations, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
10. Consistent with “His Majesty's Government's Commitment on the Implementation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,” outline an implementation plan, with firm deadlines and measurable benchmarks, to improve the government’s compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law obligations.

To the international community

The United Nations:

1. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights should adopt a resolution condemning ongoing abuses by both sides in the conflict in Nepal and specifically calling on the Nepali government to end the practice of enforced disappearances by security forces.
2. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances should continue its probe into “disappearances” in Nepal, urging the government to promptly investigate individual cases transmitted by the WGEID and to implement the WGEID’s recommendations aimed at ending the practice altogether.
3. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights should hold the Nepali government to its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding concerning technical assistance, ensuring that the NHRC has unhindered assistance and can fully perform its statutory functions.

The United States, India, the United Kingdom, and other states providing military assistance to Nepal:

1. The United States government should ensure that, in accordance with recently adopted legislation, military assistance is provided to Nepal only if the Nepali government complies with the conditions in the law. In monitoring compliance with the law, U.S. officials should pay special attention to units quartered in army barracks known to be locations where many “disappeared” persons are reportedly held in unofficial detention, including the ones listed in this report.

2. States that have not done so should make military assistance to Nepal contingent on the government’s adherence to international human rights and humanitarian law and exclude any assistance to units implicated in human rights violations. All suppliers should actively monitor the use of any weapons or non-lethal items to ensure they are not being utilized to commit abuses.
3. States providing military assistance to Nepal should pressure the government to abide by its commitments under international law. They should publicly condemn specific violations, including the widespread enforced disappearances committed by security forces, and urge the government to address them.