Torture persists in Democratic Nepal, say rights advocates

Despite the return of democratic rule a little over one year ago, there has been no let up in cases of police abuse in Nepal, according to human rights defenders involved in a countrywide campaign against torture. An investigation carried out by the Advocacy Forum, an independent human rights organization, reveals that since the restoration of democracy in April 2006, more than 1,300 Nepalese have suffered torture -- most at the hands of the country's police. The investigation's findings are now propelling new calls for the Nepalese government to ratify the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention Against Torture, a move that would enable Nepalese citizens to lodge torture complaints at the international level. Activists say they also want the government in Kathmandu to sign the UN Convention that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002. The world court, which has been accepted by more than 100 governments across the world, defines torture as a crime against humanity. "By joining the ICC, the government would make a strong statement that it is serious about protecting human rights," said a statement from the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), a network of Nepalese rights groups that includes the Advocacy Forum. Convinced that Nepalese police have been committing gross violations of human rights, the network is pushing for reforms on how law enforcement personnel investigate crimes. "The police often do not understand the gravity or even meaning of torture," said Ram Sharma, director of the Advocacy Forum, while recounting a past encounter with a senior police official who described torture as a "witch's curse." In a statement, COCAP members said they were shocked to discover that torture continued even though a relatively progressive government has been in place since the overthrow of the autocratic regime of King Gyanendra in April 2006. According to Sharma, the Nepalese police lack the training to conduct proper, scientifically based investigations and rely almost exclusively on physical intimidation to extract confessions. "On the rare occasions that anti-torture laws are enforced, compensation is paid by the government, not the torturer," he said, explaining that victims receive a maximum of 100,000 rupees, the equivalent of about $1,500. Observers say a vast majority of those falling victim to police abuse are working people from the lower castes, such as Dalits and other minorities. Inspired in part by the success of the recent uprising against the autocratic rule of the King, Dalits and other minorities have become politically more active and are demanding their due share in the power structure. Many of their leaders are currently engaged in efforts to seek a larger role in the Constituent Assembly, whose members will be elected in November to draft a new constitution, according to COCAP. Last week, over 20 Dalit leaders were arrested after protesting the government policy that Dalits will receive only 6 percent of the 497 seats in the Assembly. Outside the country, leaders of the Nepalese diaspora have also become more active than ever before. They have launched a petition campaign calling for the government to permit Dalits and other minorities to vote in elections. So far, the petition has been signed by nearly 3,000 Nepalese residing in over 80 countries. It describes the vote as "a fundamental right that should be given to all Nepalese citizens, regardless of where they live." Meanwhile, international human rights groups are demanding justice for cases of abuse and torture committed during the monarch's rule. Last month, Human Rights Watch strongly criticized the Nepalese government for failing to complete a probe into the cases of those disappeared during the movement for democracy. "The government should quickly implement the Supreme Court's order to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the thousands of enforced disappearances in Nepal's civil conflict," said Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in a recent statement. In a ruling last month, the court said the government must investigate all the enforced disappearances immediately and establish a commission that complies with international human rights standards. "The new government has promised to find the truth and ensure justice for 'disappearances', but has been slow to make good on these pledges," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Implementing the Supreme Court's order on 'disappearances' will be a key test of the Nepali government's commitment to establishing accountability and the rule of law," he added. Both Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists have welcomed the Supreme Court decision. "Through this decision, the Court has demonstrated the important role any judiciary can play in upholding respect for the rule of law and international human rights principles, even in a country just emerging from conflict," said Wilder Tayler, deputy secretary-general of the ICJ. "This decision should be a source of inspiration to other judiciaries in the world as they struggle to deal with cases involving enforced disappearances." The court ordered the government to provide interim relief to the families of the victims of the "disappeared," which is to be provided without any effect on the final outcome of these cases. The court also ordered the government to enact legislation that would criminalize enforced disappearances and take into account the new International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Thousands of individuals were reportedly "disappeared" during Nepal's 10-year conflict. In 2003 and 2004, Nepal recorded the highest number of new cases of enforced disappearances in the world, according to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Between May 2000 and January 2007, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal received more than 2,000 cases of disappearances. According to the UN, the fate or whereabouts of over 600 of these people still remains unknown. Human rights defenders say the government's failure to hold accountable even a single perpetrator perpetuates the culture of impunity, which could lead to gross human rights violations in the future. "The government must address impunity for past human rights violations, in a meaningful way" said the ICJ's Tayler. Both the Human Rights Watch and the ICJ are also urging the Nepalese government to propose a new law on enforced disappearances, in line with the Supreme Court order, rather than amend the Civil Code, as the government currently proposes.