INSEC documents 5,542 victims of human rights violations in Nepal and recommends an end to impunity

ByLaxman Datt Pant

INSEC documents 5,542 victims of human rights violations in Nepal and recommends an end to impunity

Disclosing that several actions that post-conflict countries are mandatorily required to accomplish remain unaddressed in Nepal, the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), a leading human rights organization in the country, documented 5,543 victims of human rights violations in 2020.

Releasing the Nepal Human Rights Year Book (HRYB) 2021 today in Kathmandu, INSEC has recommended an end to impunity by ensuring the accountability of government and political parties. The documented cases include 675 victims of violations of human rights and 4,868 victims of human rights abuse.

Stating that INSEC has constantly advocated against the general amnesty given to conflict-era crimes, Bijay Raj Gautam, Executive Director of INSEC, said, “There is no progress towards compliance with the Supreme Court order despite continuous advocacy by human rights defenders.” The first step towards compliance would have been to amend the law on Investigation of the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014, he added.

On April 26, 2020, the Supreme Court of Nepal quashed an appeal from the Government of Nepal (GoN) regarding its order barring amnesty for serious human rights violation cases during the time of conflict. Unfortunately, the GoN failed to comply with the order of the Supreme Court judges who had asked the government to ensure sanctions were applied to violators of human rights during the conflict and not to seek other means of enforced reconciliation.

Concerned about the culture of impunity prevailing in the country, Gautam stated that there has been no progress towards identifying the perpetrators of serious human rights violations. The government has failed to deliver its commitments made during the first and second cycle of the Universal Periodic Reviews and the Supreme Court order that required the amendment of the transitional justice laws, he added.

  • INSEC documented the killing of 343 people including 158 females, 184 males, and one-third gender by others in 2020
  • There were seven killings by state authorities and nine victims of torture
  • A total of 320 people were victims of beating. This included 93 beaten by the state and 227 beaten by others
  • A total of 370 people were arrested whereas there were 48 victims of caste-based discrimination, 25 victims of inhuman behavior, 94 victims whose right to assembly was violated, 25 victims of threats and 320 victims of beatings
  • INSEC documented 16 victims of Economic, Social and Cultural rights violations in 2020 which were related to the capture of property, deprivation of wages and expulsion from employment
  • A total of 150 people across the country were injured in incidents involving explosions, weapon firing, clashes and beatings
  • Four females were injured due to acid attacks
  • Contrary to the right to speech and freedom of assembly, the government has imposed restrictions against organizing sit-ins, rallies, demonstrations and assemblies resulting in 94 people being deprived of their right to assembly
  • 370 people were victims of arrest of which 31 were female. INSEC documented the incidence of arrest by police without producing an arrest warrant
  • 1,461 children were victims of child rights violation of which the majority of incidents (989) were related to rape
  • INSEC documented one female victim of violation by the state and 2,605 women victims of abuse
  • A total of 2,606 incidents of violence against women were reported with 32 victims of attempted trafficking, 1,346 victims of domestic violence, 58 victims of allegations of witchcraft, 648 victims of rape, 152 victims of attempted rape, 62 victims of sexual abuse and 25 victims of trafficking
  • As many as 102 women were killed by family members of which three were killed for bringing insufficient dowry and another 12 faced violence related to the same issue
  • There were 1,461 victims of violations of child rights, 989 victims of rape, 356 of sexual abuse and 19 of corporal punishment at schools

Praising the efforts of the government to manage the spread of the pandemic and the government’s decision to provide free tests for COVID-19, HRYB 2021 observed, “The experience with the pandemic has indicated the need for greater preparations for dealing with similar situations in the coming days.”

Underscoring that, even after 14 years of the Comprehensive Peace Accord, there has been no concrete progress in transitional justice, the book concluded that stakeholders’ concerns remain largely ignored in terms of transitional justice. While violence against children and women continues to increase, state actors have failed to bring suspects of crime to the judicial process.

“There is an urgent need for effective implementation of human rights action plans, the localization of sustainable development goals, and for ending both impunity and the growing criminalization of politics by ensuring accountability towards the commitment,” the recommendations read.

The major recommendations made by INSEC through this publication include ending impunity, ensuring the effective implementation of national action plans on human rights, effective legal arrangements and their enforcement for reducing violence against women, and implementing the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission. In the report, INSEC also urged political parties to be made accountable for their commitments to the provisions in the Constitution and various political agreements for ensuring human rights and social justice.

INSEC began publishing the Nepal Human Rights Year Book in 1992.