Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

UN rights chief warns Nepal peace process at risk from impunity

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The peace process in Nepal could be hampered by "impunity for human rights abuses", UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Sunday. At a Kathmandu news conference concluding her five-day visit to Nepal, Pillay cited abuses including the failure of Nepal's commissions on disappearances and truth and reconciliation to ensure justice for victims of abuse and recent "arbitrary actions" taken against journalists and other human rights activists. Pillay said:The demands of victims' families are not mere wishes they are supported by law. And until these demands for justice are fulfilled and accountability for past, and in particular ongoing, violations is ensured, a truly new Nepal will not emerge, and indeed, the peace process could be jeopardised.Pillay is seeking a three year extension of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) in order to "address the remaining challenges." The decade-long Maoist guerrilla insurgency that left more than 13,000 people dead ended in late 2006 when the Nepalese government signed a peace agreement that established the Nepalese Constituent Assembly (CA). In November, the CA announced that it will finish drafting the country's new constitution within 18 months. In May, the CA voted to abolish the country's monarchy, giving King Gyanendera 15 days to abandon his royal palace, which cleared the way for Maoists to serve in government. As part of the peace accord, the CA was elected last April, an organization dominated by members of the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoists (CPN-M).

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 23, 2009 (boomark / email).