HUMAN RIGHTS: DRL VISITORS FIND MIXED REVIEWS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000751 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PTER EAID NP SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS: DRL VISITORS FIND MIXED REVIEWS Classified By: CDA John Schlosser. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In a February 26 - March 3 visit to Nepal, DRL officers Saba Ghori and Jennifer King met with local human rights groups, politicians, and government officials in Kathmandu and Pokhara to discuss human rights, democracy, and labor issues in Nepal. Human rights groups explained that following February 1, 2005, though the number of disappearances had been reduced, the government increasingly violated political rights. Human rights groups claimed that people feared the security forces more than the Maoists, as the security forces did not have a permanent presence in the villages. Local NGOs called for civilian oversight of security forces, increased focus on the rule of law, and enforcement of laws on the books for issues like child labor. The human rights cell of the police stated that human rights training was given at all levels. The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) allowed the visitors to tour a rehabilitation facility for former Maoists, to demonstrate RNA efforts to promote human rights. End Summary. Increased Violations of Political Rights -------------- ¶2. (C) DRL officers Saba Ghori and Jennifer King visited Nepal for five days at the beginning of March to focus on human rights, democracy and labor issues. While both the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have broad human rights mandates, both groups indicated an increasing focus on civilian political rights due to the government's restrictive actions. The NHRC noted that torture and disappearances by government forces had decreased since the king's takeover on February 1, 2005. However, the King's assumption of power also brought an increase in government violations of political rights. The NHRC faulted the government for failing to follow NHRC recommendations in a number of cases. NHRC opined that, contrary to the conclusions of the UN rapporteur on torture, torture was not systematic, though it acknowledged that torture did occur, more in army barracks than in police custody. Both organizations reported good cooperation and access to police detention facilities to monitor political detainees, but cautioned that it was more difficult to know if the military provided full access to suspected Maoists held in military barracks. NHRC headquarters requested more funding to develop their Human Rights Resource Center, which the visitors toured. NHRC also expressed interest in increased funding to expand work on the issue of internally displaced people. Civilian Oversight of Security Forces Needed -------------- ¶3. (C) Subodh Pyakurel, President of Nepal's largest human right's NGO, INSEC, stressed that improved civil liberties and human rights only came through respect of the rule of law. He lamented, "without democracy, how can we have rule of law?" He noted that the unified command of government security forces should be under civilian authority. However, in practice, there was no civilian oversight as the local chief district officers had no authority to tell the armed security forces how to act. He called on both the Maoists and the government to do more to assist the internally displaced people (IDPs),which he estimated at 40,000, with 12,000 needing "immediate emergency relief." He also urged international donors to assist political parties with becoming more professional. In their discussions with Ghori and King, political leaders urged the United States to condemn, more strongly, the King for his autocratic actions. The members of the seven-party alliance also urged the U.S. to support their efforts to work toward peace through the seven-party alliance's 12 point understanding with the Maoists. Rule of Law Must Be Strengthened -------------- ¶4. (C) Members of the Nepalese Bar Association (NBA) explained that they viewed as unconstitutional the King's February 1, 2005 step to take direct rule. Nevertheless, they all believed in the rule of law and respected many of the judges on the benches, including Supreme Court justices, though not the chief justice. The Bar Association assisted with about 400 habeas corpus petitions following the King's step, and an additional 300 habeas corpus petitions following government arrest of politicians in January 2006. Separately, Kaski Appellate Court Judge Rishi Raj Joshi stated that he followed the example set by the Supreme Court in giving priority to and ruling on habeas corpus cases. He noted that his court had ruled on all habeas corpus cases, but had an approximate 1 year backlog consisting of 362 other cases. He commented that his court continued to hear mainly civil cases on issues such as land partitioning, but the lack of security force presence in the villages and the ongoing Maoist insurgency made it difficult to issue summons to witnesses outside the district centers. Human Rights Groups Claim People Living in Fear -------------- -- ¶5. (C) The Pokhara office of the NHRC reported that fear was pervasive in the 16 mid-western districts it covered. Local NGO Human Rights Organization Nepal (HURON) noted that the people were afraid of both the government and the Maoists. HURON President Gharan Prasai stated that people feared the security forces more than the Maoists, because the security forces only infrequently visited many villages and thus could not determine who was a villager and who was a Maoist and therefore tended to act indiscriminately. The Maoists, in contrast, were a more predictable, constant presence. Anjana Shakya, President of local NGO HIMRIGHTS, agreed that people feared security forces more than Maoists. In contrast, Pyakurel stated that while the number of reported Maoist atrocities might be less than reported abuses by security forces, the manner in which Maoists committed abuses was "far more egregious." Ironically, Prasai commented that number two Maoist leader Baburram Bhattarai had been a founding member of HURON in the late 1980's during the country's earlier struggle to attain democracy. Shakya explained that many Nepalese did not know what to do when confronted with human rights violations. She expressed admiration for the courage of rural, uneducated women who came to the capital in search of information about their loved ones. Shakya highlighted the many underlying injustice issues that fueled the insurgency, such as caste and gender discrimination, and noted that many young women joined the Maoists because they saw Maoism as their only option for social justice. She estimated that more than 50 percent of Maoists were women. While Reduced Number of New Disappearances, Many Old Cases Still Outstanding -------------- ¶6. (C) Shakya estimated that, since the start of the insurgency in 1996, the government and human rights groups had resolved about 300 disappearance cases, leaving the whereabouts of another 600 people outstanding. Prasai maintained that, based on data from its chapters in 65 districts, HURON estimated that since the beginning of the insurgency, the government was responsible for the disappearance of about 600 people and the Maoists were responsible for the disappearance of about 300 people. He believed that the highest number of new cases of disappearances occurred in 2003 and 2004, and the number of new cases had decreased in 2005. (Note: Our 2005 Human Rights Report stated that a five-member panel set up by the government in 2004 had resolved 580 cases of disappearances by the state as of August 2005. End note.) The NHRC report stated that in the 16 midwestern districts there were 36 complaints of abduction and disappearance by the Maoists and 87 complaints of abduction and disappearance by the government since May 2005. He stated that disappearances by the government had increased since the end of the Maoists' December 2005 cease-fire. Lack of Attention to Children and Workers -------------- ¶7. (C) Local NGOs noted that as the government was focused on the insurgency, it was less able to focus on child and adult labor issues. Gauri Pradhan, President of Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN),highlighted the ongoing challenges facing children in Nepal, including child labor and trafficking. Laxman Basnet, President of the Nepal Trade Union Congress, lamented that the government had a poor record of enforcing labor laws on the books. He noted that Nepal's lack of whistle blower protection made it difficult to report labor violations such as child labor. He also highlighted Nepal's poor employment environment, low literacy level, and lack of government protection that resulted in an estimated 12,000 women and children being trafficked to India from Nepal each year. Religious Freedom -------------- ¶8. (C) Members of the local NGO Inter-Religious Peace Committee Nepal noted the difficulties of practicing non-Hindu religions in Nepal, a Hindu kingdom. Christian member KB Rokaya highlighted the difficulty of registering Christian churches with local authorities, especially as Christianity was seen as a "western" religion, and Christians could be jailed for proselytization and conversion. Muslim member Hamid Ansari explained that it was also difficult for Muslims to get land certificates from HMGN for mosques or madrases. Moreover Muslims found difficulty in obtaining citizenship in many areas of the terai, both due to discrimination by local officials and a lack of central level legislation protecting religious freedom. Members agreed that there was widespread discrimination against dalits (low caste-Hindus) and that dalits had difficulty gaining access to village water taps, temples, government schools, or military service. Pyakurel also raised religious freedom issues, noting that Christians were undercounted in the census, and that Muslims were often treated like untouchable dalits in Hindu communities in the terai. As the Constitution enshrines Nepal as a Hindu kingdom, members of the Inter-Religious Committee hoped that a constitutional assembly, as called for by the political parties and the Maoists in their 12-point understanding, would create a new constitution that ensured religious freedom. Police Working to Respect Human Rights -------------- ¶9. (C) Head of the police human rights cell Deputy Superintendent of Police Pushkar Karki explained that police had instituted human rights instruction in all levels of training. He highlighted the efforts the police were making to respect human rights, but admitted that there were still problems. He acknowledged that the police had paid compensation to 24 torture victims since and was encouraging the government to criminalize torture. He stated that the human rights cell was working to expand such cells into every district with the assistance of the OHCHR. Rehabilitation Facility -------------- ¶10. (C) Visiting Dhakaltar, a government-run Maoist rehabilitation facility three hours southwest of Kathmandu, Emboff and Ghori spoke in depth with two male and two female camp inhabitants who had been Maoist cadre for six months to five years, but who had chosen to surrender to the government. During the visit on March 3, only 24 former Maoists were at the rehabilitation facility, which has a capacity for 150 people. The former Maoists were from rural areas in all parts of the country, and had varied levels of education. They explained that they had little knowledge about the Maoists until the latter came to their schools to hold "education campaigns". They claimed to have joined the Maoists with a sense of adventure, but also under some pressure. They had decided to desert on an individual basis, after becoming disillusioned with the Maoist ideology, but had hesitated telling anyone else for fear of retribution. ¶11. (C) The RNA captain in charge of the facility highlighted that the former Maoists were there of their own free will. He noted that most chose to stay three to six months, but some had been there for two years, since the facility opened. The government provided each former Maoist with training, such as small appliance and refrigerator repair or sewing training, and a small amount of money to restart their lives. Former Maoists ate the same food and shared the same recreation facilities as the 100-strong new RNA recruits who were undergoing training at the army base co-located with the rehabilitation unit. The former Maoists reportedly chose to stay at the facility for protection, and used the International Committee of the Red Cross to get word of their whereabouts to their families, fearing Maoist reprisals for deserting the cause. The compound was surrounded by barbed wire and guards, though the RNA captain in charge downplayed the threat of a Maoist attack on the compound. Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) While noting some progress on issues such as habeas corpus and a reduced number of disappearances, the overall human rights picture in Nepal remains grim. The ongoing insurgency also has negatively impacted routine legal protections, such as child labor enforcement by the government. The visit to the rehabilitation facility, and discussion with legal professionals, pointed to the need for better legal provisions, such as in-camera trials, to deal with suspected Maoists. This would be an opportunity to provide additional human rights training, which in turn would reduce the number of government disappearances. ¶13. (U) Ghori and King cleared this cable. SCHLOSSER