Press Release – 17 April 2007

OHCHR-Nepal, in collaboration with NHRC, discusses human rights in the peace process with local leaders and authorities in Sunsari District
On Monday and Tuesday, OHCHR-Nepal, with the collaboration of the NHRC, participated in meetings with members of political parties and civil society in Inaruwa. The topic under discussion was human rights in the Nepalese peace process.
The meeting focused on the challenge of ensuring that human rights, including the human rights provisions in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the interim Constitution and in the new government’s Minimum Programme of Common Consent, are respected in the peace process. Secondly, we discussed possible ways to ensure inclusive representation in the upcoming Constituent Assembly.
In discussions in regard to elections, it was stressed that political actors must accept that respect for the rights of others, including political allies and opponents, is the cornerstone of successful elections in a multi-party democracy. This means, for example, that political actors must permit all other actors to hold rallies, meetings, or demonstrations, and must also ensure that their supporters too respect these rights of others.
Political actors must also respect the rights of voters to participate in any political gatherings, as well as to vote freely, and the right of the press to report without fear of repercussions.
No reference was made to particular political parties or actors.
On the formation of the Constituent Assembly, the need to build upon the eight parties’ commitment in the CPA to inclusive representation by providing modalities for that representation in elections, in both the first-past-the-post system and the proportional representation system, was emphasized.
Overall, one important objective of the workshop was to encourage political actors to make a strong commitment to respect human rights in the peace process, particularly regarding upcoming elections, and to ensure that their supporters honour those commitments on the ground. The roles that authorities, human rights defenders and other civil society activists can play in helping to guarantee respect for human rights in post-conflict Nepal was also discussed.