The Nepalese police are using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, restricting their gatherings, and torturing prisoners, all in violation of international conventions, the United Nations human rights representative in Nepal said Tuesday.
Urging the Nepalese Government to investigate the violations, the UN Representative in Nepal of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Ian Martin also asked for corrective action to prevent future occurrences.
– OHCHR deplores the violence used by the participants in some of the demonstrations, said Mr. Martin, but “there can be no justification for the use of force.”
– The lack of restraint by police may contribute to escalating violence, and [OHCHR] expresses its deep concern over reports of beating and abuse of demonstrators, which constitute torture, he added.
Mr. Martin has been receiving reports about police throwing stones at demonstrators, using teargas, arresting demonstrators on questionable grounds, using indiscriminate force when taking people into custody, and the beating and abuse of some participants in jail.
Noting that the countrys state of emergency ended four months ago, Mr. Martin expressed concern that peaceful public gatherings “continue to be prohibited by the government in a number of areas of Kathmandu” with similar bans in Jhapa and Kailali.
Freedom of assembly is governed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), while torture is prohibited under the Convention against Torture which Nepal ratified, said the OHCHR.
This report comes just days after a UN human rights expert Manfred Novak discovered frank admissions by senior police and military officials of torture being practiced against prisoners in the country.
Kilde: FNs nyhedstjeneste
