NEPAL: SILENCE HANDICAPS OHCHR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001003 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PTER NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: SILENCE HANDICAPS OHCHR Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On May 17, the Ambassador told Lena Sundh, the Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR),that OHCHR's silence regarding the Young Communist League (YCL) was destroying OHCHR's credibility. Sundh assured the Ambassador that OHCHR was preparing a report on the YCL. She also admitted that the business community was reluctant to talk to OHCHR for fear of retaliation. Sundh shared her concern about internal discord within the Maoist party and the growing insecurity in the countryside. In response to the Ambassador's questions regarding cooperation with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),Sundh informed the Ambassador that OHCHR was in the process of developing a program to work directly with the NHRC at the regional level. Silence Handicapping the OHCHR -------------- ¶2. (C) The Ambassador told the Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR), Lena Sundh, that during his recent trip to Washington, he had conveyed concern about OHCHR's inaction in the face of the growing number of Young Communist League (YCL) atrocities. He advised Sundh that OHCHR's silence was damaging its credibility and therefore its ability to play a strong role in the human rights debate. For example, the business community saw no merit in approaching OHCHR. As a result an ever increasing number of YCL violations went unreported and unacknowledged by the international community. The Ambassador added that the absence of criticism from OHCHR acted to enable the YCL's bad behavior. Sundh admitted that many of the recent actions by the YCL were indefensible. However, she stressed, that many business persons were reluctant to talk to OHCHR because they feared retaliation. Sundh stated that OHCHR had talked to the Maoist leadership about the YCL, but had not gotten far. She renewed her long-standing commitment to produce a report on the YCL, in some form, and assured the Ambassador that the report would be forthcoming soon. Maoist Party Disconnect - Fact or Fiction? -------------- ¶3. (C) Sundh told the Ambassador that she believed there was a growing disconnect between the Maoist central leadership and the cadre in the countryside. She expressed concern about how the Maoist leadership would deal with the conflicting pressures. Sundh speculated that the Maoist leaders were learning that there were rules which applied in a central parliamentary government, and at the same time, were facing increasing pressure from regional leaders and the YCL who were not looking for compromises. The Ambassador replied that there were disagreements among the Maoist leadership over tactics, not goals. The Maoist had never really cared about joining a "republic;" the internal conflict was really about how to move forward into power, not how to join a democracy. Sundh Sees YCL filling Security Vacuum -------------- ¶4. (C) Sundh shared her growing concern about the security situation throughout the country. She told the Ambassador that the YCL seemed to have adopted a new independence and was using police inaction and the security vacuum to engage in gregarious behavior. Sundh reported that all the political parties were undercutting and interfering with the police. She feared that each of the political parties might end up creating their own militias to protect themselves. Comment -------------- KATHMANDU 00001003 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) The promised report on the Young Communist League by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has now been forthcoming for months. In the meantime, the YCL continues to terrorize - undenounced by the most prominent human rights organization in the country. It is undoubtedly easier for a businessman to pay a bribe to the Maoists than to put his family at risk by not paying or complaining to OHCHR. This is exactly why it is so important to have international organizations like OHCHR fighting for human rights. It seems incredible that the UN's Human Rights Office in Nepal is now using the people's fear as an excuse for its failure to live up to its mandate. OHCHR is here to try to hold to account violators of human rights, including those who are Maoists. It will fail miserably - and further impair Nepal's fragile peace process - if it opts to tread quietly and safely through Nepal's troubled politics. MORIARTY