Originally Published by The Himalayan Times.
Amnesty International, Nepal chapter, releasing its annual report in the country, has accused the government of failing to protect human rights of citizens in the six major categories.
From ‘legally limiting the rights to freedom of expression and privacy’ to ‘torture and other ill-treatment’ of crime suspects, inability to deliver justice, truth and reparations to the victims of armed conflict, and inability to secure basic health care for COVID-19 victims, the AI has accused the government of turning a blind eye to the issues of promoting basic human rights.
Issuing a press release today, the AI said gender-based discrimination continued in the country while authorities failed to carry out credible and independent investigations into several deaths in custody, mostly of people from marginalised communities.
Torture and other ill-treatment were widespread in pre-trial detention to extract ‘confessions’ and intimidate detainees.
By the end of the year, there were no convictions under the 2017 Criminal Code, which criminalised these practices.
Several deaths in custody were reported during the year – mostly of detainees from marginalised Dalit and Madhesi communities. No independent investigations were carried out.
It pointed out that the government’s mitigation and support to the victim of unseasonal flooding and landslide in October was inadequate where over 100 people were displaced and over 1,100 families and over 325,000 tonnes of paddy crops were destroyed.
It has accused the government of using the Electronic Transactions Act 2006 to arbitrarily detain individuals, including journalists. They particularly targeted those critical of the government and of leaders of the ruling party.
In February, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology drafted social media guidelines that would give the government sweeping powers to regulate social media content and criminalise users’ activities, including the ability to hold people liable for liking, sharing and commenting on posts.
The government continued to fail to deliver truth, justice and reparations to tens of thousands of victims of crimes under international law and other grave human rights violations committed during the 1996- 2006 conflict era.
The second wave of COV- ID-19, which began in April, caused the collapse of the country’s fragile healthcare system, resulting in more than 7,000 deaths. The situation was exacerbated by a severe shortage of vaccines, medical facilities and vital hospital supplies including oxygen, ventilators and other life-saving medical equipment, and a lack of adequate preparation by the government.
The government failed to reform the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973, which does not meet international standards.
Indigenous people, evicted from their ancestral lands during the establishment of national parks and conservation areas, remained landless and continued to live in informal settlements facing risks of further forced evictions.
Gender-based discrimination continued, and the government did not reform constitutional provisions which denied women equal citizenship rights. The restrictive provision for statutory limitations for rape in the Criminal Code continued to allow impunity for perpetrators.