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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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