NEPAL: NHRC STILL AWAITING COMMISSIONERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001137

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM UN NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: NHRC STILL AWAITING COMMISSIONERS


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

Summary
--------------


1. (C) On June 1, Acting Secretary of the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC),Padma Mathema, told visiting
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Barry Lowenkron that the absence of Commissioners was the
NHRC's most critical concern. Mathema said that she had
stressed to Prime Minister Koirala that the NHRC could not
fulfill its mandate until the Interim Government appointed
Commissioners. The NHRC Acting Secretary stated that,
although the human rights situation in Nepal had improved
since the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) was signed in
November, many serious problems remained. These included:
continuing Maoist terror and violence; the inability of
internally displaced persons to return home; a failure to
account for disappearances; the emergence of many new violent
groups in the Terai; continuing Maoist extortion; and the
fragile state of law and order throughout the country.
Mathema noted that some of the biggest obstacles the
organization faced were public awareness, funding, and
organizational capacity. Keith Leslie, UNDP Senior Human
Rights Advisor, emphasized the lack of cooperation and
imbalance of resources between the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal and the NHRC.

NHRC Needs Commissioners Now
--------------


2. (C) At a meeting June 1 with A/S Lowenkron, Padma Mathema,
Acting Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC),stressed the NHRC's need for commissioners. Mathema
explained that until Commissioners were appointed, the NHRC
had no legal authority to make recommendations to the
Government of Nepal (GON) and could not fulfill its mandate.
Moreover, the NHRC needed commissioners to set organizational
policies and promote human rights. Mathema reported that the
NHRC had been continuously lobbying government officials,
political party leaders, and civil society representatives
for the nomination of commissioners. The Assistant Secretary
told Mathema that, in his meeting with the Prime Minister
that same day, he too had stressed the fundamental importance
of Commissioners for the NHRC. (Note: The NHRC is an
independent and autonomous constitutionally mandated body
which is supposed to have one chairman and four other
members. The NHRC has been without a chairman or any
Commissioners since July 2006.)

Human Rights Situation Still Dire
--------------


3. (C) The NHRC Acting Secretary explained that, since the
Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) was signed in November of
2006, the NHRC had seen a reduction in killings, torture,
illegal detentions, abductions and disappearances. However,
serious new threats had arisen. The Maoists continued to use
terror and violence, and the emergence of the Young Communist
League (YCL) had led to more atrocities. Maoist intimidation
was making it very difficult for those who were internally
displaced during the conflict to return home. Moreover,
neither the Maoists nor the Government had shown a
willingness to provide information and assistance in locating
the over 800 persons who had "disappeared" during the
conflict. In addition, Mathema reported, many new groups had
emerged in the Terai that were increasingly involved in
killing, torture, the confiscation of property, and
kidnapping.

NHRC Needs Resources and Support
--------------


4. (C) Aside from the lack of Commissioners, Mathema
indicated that she was most concerned about the ability of
the organization to fulfill its mandate. She commented that
Nepal faced serious problems establishing law and order and
had a critical need to strengthen its principal human rights

KATHMANDU 00001137 002 OF 002


institution. But, she stressed, the Government of Nepal
(GON) was not providing the necessary support, NHRC
recommendations were not implemented, and there was a
disturbing trend of impunity. Mathema also emphasized that,
in spite of NHRC's critical need to reach remote areas, the
NHRC regional offices were understaffed and under-funded.
Keith Leslie, a UNDP Senior Human Rights Advisory seconded to
NHRC, expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation
between the NHRC and the UN Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR). Leslie emphasized OHCHR
was building its own bureaucracy when it should be working
closely with NHRC to help build the capacity of the Nepali
organization.

Comment
--------------


5. (C) The ability of the National Human Rights Commission to
play a meaningful role in the promotion of human rights in
Nepal and the country's democratic transition will remain
crippled until the GON appoints independent commissioners and
provides the Commission with necessary resources. A/S
Lowenkron raised this issues with the Prime Minister who
charged that the political parties were holding up the
appointments because of partisan considerations. As the
Assistant Secretary stated, democracy does not need to be
infallible, just accountable. The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights needs to use its considerably
greater resources to do its part to strengthen the NHRC,
something it has been reluctant to do to date. The
Commission will be here when OHCHR is gone. The NHRC has
done as much as it could to speak the truth about human
rights abuses regardless of the perpetrators. With support,
it could do much more.


6. (U) Assistant Secretary Lowenkron has cleared this message.
MORIARTY