ALRC urges Nepal to invite new UN Special Rapporteur
An Oral Statement to the 21st Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status
NEPAL: The ALRC urges Nepal to invite new UN Special Rapporteur on transitional justice to the country without delay
Thank you Madam President,
Mr. de Greiff, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) warmly welcomes you and congratulates you on your appointment as Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. We welcome your first report to the Council, in particular the emphasis you place on adopting a comprehensive approach to addressing gross violations of human rights. We support the statement that reconciliation cannot be an alternative to justice, and share your concern with regard to the tendency of some States to trade off one measure against others.
As an
organization that works to assist victims and human rights
defenders across Asia to seek justice and remedies, to
challenge impunity and to strengthen national institutions
and justice-delivery mechanisms, we welcome in particular
your position concerning the need for the strengthening of
the rule of law and for building the trustworthiness of
national institutions. The participation of individuals and
civil society in ensuring accountability and law-making are
essential.
The ALRC’s work on the rule of law and
reforms to State institutions makes it apparent that there
are a significant number of countries in the Asian region
that could benefit from cooperation with your mandate.
However, we believe that it is most urgent for your mandate
to engage with the Government of Nepal, and we note with
appreciation your request for a country visit. We urge the
Government of Nepal to show its commitment to cooperation
with the Human Rights Council and to effective transitional
justice, by enabling this visit to take place without
delay.
The ALRC recalls the statement by the High
Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday September 10, 2012,
that was of great relevance to your mandate, as it
highlighted concerns about the proposed ordinance in Nepal
granting broad amnesty powers to the future transitional
justice mechanism, including for those who might have
committed gross human rights violations, in breach of
international law and Nepal's international human rights
obligations.
Mr. de Greiff, we urge you to take up this
issue with the Government of Nepal, recalling that a
transitional justice mechanism - regardless of the legal
process through which it is adopted - needs to be in line
with international standards, and therefore cannot directly
or indirectly provide amnesty for serious human rights
violations, including extrajudicial executions,
disappearances, torture, rape and abductions. We also take
this opportunity to call on States to commit to refusing to
fund any mechanisms that fall short of this
benchmark.
Importantly, while the political stalemate and
legal and constitutional vacuum prevailing in Nepal may lead
to a delay in the establishment of transitional justice
mechanisms, nothing prevents the State from proceeding with
criminal investigations and prosecutions in cases that have
been pending for a long time. In particular, court orders
that have already been made, calling for the government to
investigate and prosecute specific cases, need to be
respected, not ignored. It is imperative that delays to the
establishment of such mechanisms are not used to justify the
undermining of the rule of law and the process of justice
delivery. Nepal has repeatedly pledged that it will address
impunity, including during the January 2011 Universal
Periodic Review. It is high time that demonstrable evidence
of this commitment is shown.
Thank you.
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About the ALRC: The Asian Legal
Resource Centre is an independent regional non-governmental
organisation holding general consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is the
sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission.
The Hong Kong-based group seeks to strengthen and encourage
positive action on legal and human rights issues at the
local and national levels throughout Asia.
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