HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ON NEPAL

Nepal: Terror Law Likely to Boost ‘Disappearances’

 (New York, October 26, 2004) -- Nepal’s revised antiterrorism law will  only worsen the problem of forced disappearances in the country, Human  Rights Watch said today. Enacted without any parliamentary or other  public review, the law allows the security forces to hold individuals in  preventive detention for up to one year, without charge or trial and with no  judicial oversight.  On October 13, King Gyanendra issued a new version of the much- criticized Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment)  Ordinance (TADO), which had lapsed earlier this year. Under the law, a  Chief District Officer can now approve preventive detention orders for six  months, without any recourse to the judiciary. This period can be extended  for another six months with the approval of the home minister. In previous  versions of TADO, the preventive detention period was limited to 90 days.  The new law broadens the powers of the security forces, which have been  responsible for systematic human rights abuses, including extrajudicial  killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and torture.   “Given the scale of abuses by Nepal’s security forces, laws need to be put  into place that give greater, not fewer, protections for Nepalis,” said Brad  Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. “This  law is a major step backwards. It’s likely to lead to more disappearances  and more torture of people accused of being against the government or  aligned with Maoist insurgents.”   In a recent report, “Between a Rock and Hard Place: Civilians Struggle to  Survive in Nepal’s Civil War,” Human Rights Watch documented how the  Royal Nepalese Army acts with impunity in “disappearing” and executing  suspected Maoists. The army routinely ignores habeas corpus orders from  the Supreme Court ordering access to detainees, and it has repeatedly lied  to the Supreme Court about the whereabouts of detainees in its custody.  Moreover, the army has also failed to investigate and prosecute almost all  cases of “disappearances” and summary executions, effectively allowing  its soldiers free reign to commit abuses and fostering a culture of impunity.   According to the U.N. Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary  Disappearances, Nepal in 2002 and 2003 led the world in the number of  enforced disappearances by its security forces. Nepal’s National Human  Rights Commission has documented more than 1,000 disappearances that  remain unresolved. Most of the persons “disappeared” by Nepal’s security  forces have likely been killed after interrogation.   “Nepal already leads the world in the number of persons who are  ‘disappeared’ by its security forces,” said Adams. “The law could give the  army a green light to continue its dirty work. Allowing the security forces  to keep people in secret custody for up to a year, without access to the  courts, is sending the wrong message to an army already out of control.”   Human Rights Watch noted that international experience shows that the  most effective way to prevent “disappearances” and summary executions  is to prevent the use of secret detention, and to ensure that detained  persons are promptly brought before a judge and have access to their  lawyers and families. The strengthened provisions of TADO, giving the  security forces the power to hold people in unacknowledged preventive  detention for up to a year, move Nepal in exactly the opposite direction.   Also important is an effective legislature, which can review and amend  draft laws before adoption and can provide oversight over the behavior of  the executive branch, including the army and police. However, because  the king suspended all elected bodies and Nepal’s parliament in August  2002, no public or democratic debate took place prior to the promulgation  of the new TADO.   “The issuance of this new law by fiat demonstrates that a new parliament  urgently needs to be convened,” said Adams. “Laws of this importance  should be the subject of public consideration and debate.”   Human Rights Watch pointed out that in April the Nepalese government  made a public pledge at the annual U.N. Commission on Human Rights to  uphold human rights and the laws of war in its fight against the Maoists. It  also promised to conclude an agreement with the U.N. High   Commissioner for Human Rights to allow the United Nations to provide  assistance to the Nepalese government and the National Commission on  Human Rights.   To read the report “Between a Rock and Hard Place: Civilians Struggle to  Survive in Nepal’s Civil War,” please see:  http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/nepal1004/    ----------- Please help support the research that made this bulletin possible. In order to protect our objectivity, Human Rights Watch does not accept funding from any government. We depend entirely on the generosity of people like you. To make a contribution, please visit http://hrw.org/donations/