NEPAL ARMY: IMPROVING NEPAL'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 003022

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL MASS NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL ARMY: IMPROVING NEPAL'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD

REF: A. SECSTATE 181356


B. KATHMANDU 2971

C. KATHMANDU 1376

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) In a meeting on November 6 with Ramesh Jung Thapa,
Defense Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Bishnu Uprety,
Defense Secretary, the DCM delivered ref A talking points,
strongly urging the Government of Nepal (GON) to take action
on human rights abuses in the Nepal Army (NA). The DCM made
it clear that future U.S. military assistance would be
predicated upon the GON's efforts to address human rights
violations in the NA. Thapa and Uprety both indicated that
human rights abuses would be dealt with in a quick,
transparent, and effective way, like the recent abuse case
involving Captain Robin Rana (ref B). However, both Thapa
and Uprety acknowledged that past offenses would be harder to
deal with, and intimated that these cases might not be
resolved in the near future. Thapa and Uprety reiterated
their strong commitment to respecting human rights.

Assistance Predicated By Action On Human Rights Abuses
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2. (C) In a November 6 meeting with Ramesh Jung Thapa and
Bishnu Uprety, the DCM strongly urged the Government of Nepal
(GON) to take effective and transparent action against past
and future human rights abusers in the Nepal Army (NA) --
specifically against those involved in the 2003 Maharajgunj
incident (ref A) -- as well as to ensure the Rayamajhi
Commission produced credible results and to make public the
whereabouts of 508 disappeared persons. The DCM made clear
to Thapa and Uprety that future U.S. military assistance
would be contingent upon such action. Thapa responded that
the GON took human right abuses "very seriously" and that
Uprety had testified before Parliamentary Committees many
times on the subject of alleged human rights abuses. Thapa
said that the GON had instructed the Ministry of Defense to
investigate possible abuses and bring the culprits to
justice, and that was what they had done.

There Are "Complications"
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3. (C) Uprety told the DCM that there were "complications"
within the NA regarding investigations into some of the
abuses. Because most of the alleged abuses happened three or
four years ago, and many of the officers involved had been
moved to other units, it was difficult to investigate
effectively whether the abuses had taken place and who had
been responsible. He also questioned the accuracy of the
OHCHR report on Maharajgunj, suggesting that the NA found 12
of the people listed as missing in the report. Uprety
implied that the questions about the report's accuracy made
it more difficult to investigate the incident.

Past Is Gone -- Future Is Time For Action
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4. (C) Both Uprety and Thapa made clear to the DCM that the
GON was committed to investigating and punishing human right
abuses. However, Thapa, like Uprety, suggested that action
for past abuses might be delayed. The DCM took this
opportunity to stress the need for accountability and
responsibility for both past and future actions, and the
impact not taking such action would have on future U.S.
military assistance. Both Thapa and Uprety acknowledged that
they understood this.

Comment
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5. (C) It is encouraging that the Ministry of Defense is
saying the right things regarding identifying and
acknowledging current and future human rights abuses.
However, it is troubling that they seem lukewarm about
holding NA officers accountable for past abuses. We will
continue to push the GON hard for a public, transparent, and
accountable system of investigation and punishment of future
and past human rights abusers in the Nepal Army.
MORIARTY