NEPAL LEADERS UPDATE A/S BLAKE ON OHCHR EXTENSION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000523

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM PK SL NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL LEADERS UPDATE A/S BLAKE ON OHCHR EXTENSION
PROSPECTS

REF: KATHMANDU 476

Summary
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1. (SBU) On June 12, Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) Representative Richard Bennett informed
Assistant Secretary Robert Blake that his office has been
focusing on impunity and discrimination in Nepal. Both
problems are still rife and continue to undermine the
transition to democracy. He also described the challenges he
faced in extending OHCHR's mission and maintaining a
comprehensive mandate. In subsequent meetings, the Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister were relatively positive about
a mandate extension, but the Foreign Secretary admitted that
concerns remained about the proper scope of the mandate. A/S
Blake strongly encouraged the Government of Nepal to extend
OHCHR's mandate.

OHCHR Concerned About Impunity and Discrimination
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2. (SBU) Richard Bennett, Representative in Nepal for the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
explained to visiting Assistant Secretary for South and
Central Asia Robert Blake on June 12, that his office is
focused on issues of impunity and discrimination in Nepal.
Bennett characterized discrimination as the root cause of the
country's ten-year conflict. He added that widespread
impunity has eroded national institutions and eroded
confidence in government. Retribution and threats against
human rights defenders remained a problem, particularly
outside Kathmandu. Bennett noted that individuals with
political connections can avoid consequences for their
actions. He said that political will is even more important
in addressing impunity than capacity development. The OHCHR
Representative explained that Nepal's National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC),first established in 2000, has faced
difficulties since its inception, is regarded as politicized,
and continues to lack credibility as the Government of Nepal
(GON) has only implemented four percent of its
recommendations. Bennett acknowledged OHCHR's relationship
with NHRC has been strained.

OHCHR Mandate Extension: The OHCHR View
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3. (SBU) Bennett stated that OHCHR's previous mandate
extension in 2007 was also controversial. Resistance arose
at both the political and bureaucratic level. Some civil
servants viewed OHCHR as usurping the state's authority. In
addition, other countries in the region were accusing Nepal
of being too accommodating to the United Nations, especially
on human rights issues. The GON wants to signal it is not a
pushover. The OHCHR Representative said further that he
understands the Nepali Government may offer a one-year
mandate extension, but with such restrictive conditions that
the High Commissioner may be unable to accept the offer.
Bennett noted he is under instruction from Geneva to seek a
comprehensive mandate. (Note: At a meeting with Emboff on
June 10, he elaborated that the High Commissioner only wanted
to maintain a presence in a country if her office could
engage in both capacity development of local institutions and
monitoring.)

OHCHR Extension: PM and Foreign Minister Supportive
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4. (SBU) Without prompting, in their meeting on June 12
(septel),Prime Minister M.K. Nepal told Assistant Secretary
Blake that OHCHR played a key role in Nepal's recent history
and that it needed to remain. At the same time, he wanted to
strengthen the NHRC and protection of human rights generally.
A/S Blake expressed appreciation for those comments and
encouraged the GON to support OHCHR's mandate extension. The
A/S noted that addressing the issue of impunity would give
new impetus to the peace process. In a subsequent meeting,
Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala agreed with A/S Blake about

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the importance of a continued role for OHCHR. Koirala
mentioned the tensions between OHCHR and the NHRC, but stated
she had a good relationship with Richard Bennett and expected
they would be able to extend the mandate.

Foreign Secretary Cuts to the Chase
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5. (SBU) In a separate meeting, Foreign Secretary Gyan
Chandra Acharya was more forthcoming about the difficulties
to be overcome. Given the new composition of the governing
coalition, new parties needed to be brought into the
discussion to develop a consensus about OHCHR and its future.
He was also clear that, with NHRC now a constitutional body,
no overlap of its mandate and OHCHR's would be acceptable.
Acharya said that the guidelines recently negotiated between
OHCHR and NHRC were a positive step and should help convince
both politicians and the NHRC, particularly the two
Commissioners with legal backgrounds, that OHCHR would not be
stepping on NHRC's authority. He hoped that a full cabinet
would be in place by the week of June 15 and that then the
discussion about the terms of OHCHR's mandate and the length
of the extension could proceed.

OHCHR Regional Issues
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6. (SBU) Bennett requested U.S. assistance in reestablishing
an OHCHR presence in Pakistan. He added that OHCHR was not
interested in a large presence, but wanted "a few feet on the
ground." On Sri Lanka, Bennett remarked that OHCHR was
disappointed by the recent resolution concerning Sri Lanka by
the Human Rights Council, and was particularly dismayed by
the Nepali Permanent Representative's vocal support for the
resolution on the grounds that Nepal might someday require
similar support.

Comment
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7. (SBU) OHCHR's current, three-month extension expires
September 9. Prime Minister Nepal did not commit to
continuation of a comprehensive mandate, but he and Foreign
Minister Koirala at least appear to be open to some solution
in the near future. Whether it will be enough to satisfy the
U.S. and other donors, and most importantly OHCHR Geneva, is
not yet clear.


8. (U) Assistant Secretary Blake cleared this message.
MOON