Nepal: NHRC takes government to task over case withdrawals
The NHRC has directed the Home Ministry to clarify why it recommended the withdrawal of 238 court cases against the alleged perpetrators of the September 2007 Kapilvastu carnage and other acts of grave human rights violation.
The National Human Rights Commission has directed the Home Ministry to clarify why it recommended the withdrawal of 238 court cases against the alleged perpetrators of the September 2007 Kapilvastu carnage and other acts of grave human rights violation.
On April 13, the Home Ministry, acting under the directives of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, had recommended the Ministry of Law and Constituent Assembly Affairs to do the needful for the cases' withdrawal.
The move, said sources, was taken as per an understanding between the Unified CPN (Maoist), Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum and the Tarai-Madhes Loktantrik Party, whose cadres have been accused of involvement in the 238 cases.
The Kapilvastu carnage is one of the gravest incidents of human rights violation after the 2006 peace deal, according to NHRC officials.
Most of the 238 cases are among those that the NHRC had identified as serious crimes committed before and after the peace deal and directed the government to punish the perpetrators.
“The government cannot withdraw the cases associated with serious rights violations even if it wants,” said Gauri Pradhan, an NHRC member. “We will summon officials concerned for clarification on this issue and take further action.”
As per the Article 2(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nepal is a signatory, the government cannot withdraw the criminal cases having universal jurisdiction such as murder and rape under any condition.
The government side has been arguing that the Article 5 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement confers it the right to “to withdraw politically-motivated cases against individuals.”
Based on the same ground, the government had withdrawn 349 cases last year, against which a case has been pending at the Supreme Court.
However, NHRC maintains that the cases have nothing to do with politics as they are clearly identified as crime.
“The move has made a mockery of the rule of law,” said Madhav Basnet, an advocate who moved the apex court against the government over its decision to withdraw 349 criminal cases.
Date: 1 May 2009
Source: Ekantipur
