 Maoist supporters at rally in Kathmandu in June 2006
“I urge the Government of Nepal, the Maoist leadership and all other political actors to exercise restraint in response to nationwide agitation,” said Jyoti Sanghera, Deputy Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal).
“Organizers of the protests should ensure that protesters act peacefully and within the law,” Ms. Sanghera said, referring to demonstrations that began yesterday.
The Office called on the leadership of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) to make certain that their cadres refrain from violence and maintain the rule of law, underscoring that emergency services, humanitarian agencies and human rights monitors must be given free passage at all times.
In a press release, the Office also called on the Government to uphold its international obligations and ensure that security forces act with restraint and respect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
In a new report, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that the lack of implementation of key commitments in Nepal's peace process is cause for serious concern, with persistent mistrust among the parties undercutting their capacities for flexible negotiation.
The parties' “absorption in day-to-day politics and internal party issues” are also impeding talks, but recently the three major parties have created an informal task force and started discussing contentious issues pertaining to the peace process and constitution, Mr. Ban said.
A decade-long civil war, claiming some 13,000 lives, ended in 2006 with the signing of a peace accord between the Government and Maoists. After conducting Constituent Assembly elections in May 2008, the nation abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and declared itself a republic.
“While consultations at all levels continue in an ad hoc manner, it remains my view that a more formal mechanism in support of such interactions among senior leaders would benefit the peace process,” the Secretary-General noted.
Source: UN News
Global 
-
Liberian girls and women should draw inspiration from the all-female Indian police unit serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to join law enforcement agencies in the service of their own nation, the top UN official in the West African country said today. more
-
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has become the most widely accepted human rights treaty in history, but 20 years after its adoption, much more remains to be done to turn its promises into reality for millions worldwide, top United Nations officials said today. more
-
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced the hope for increased cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations following the appointment of Herman van Rompuy as the first EU President and Catherine Ashton as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. more
-
The official number of swine-flu cases in Kyrgyzstan has been put at 61, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. more
-
Iranian human rights advocate and lawyer Shirin Ebadi said she has been receiving death threats, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. more
-
Vladimir Tutayev, an activist from Russia's United Civic Front (OGF), was detained in Moscow today, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. more
-
Jailed Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev is among the winners of the 2009 International Press Freedom Awards, an annual recognition by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) of journalists working in dangerous or repressive circumstances, RFE/RL's Azerbaijan Service ... more
-
Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugee children in United Nations schools in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria have been clicking away with flip cams to create the region?s first ever online video yearbook to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the ... more
-
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Libya have agreed on a $71 million programme to boost cooperation over the next five years to strengthen food security and sustainable development in the country. more
Comments
|
|
RSS