ACTING HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WELCOMES HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION BY NEPAL GOVERNMENT

31 March 2004

The acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, has welcomed the 26 March declaration by the Government of Nepal reaffirming its commitment to its international human rights and humanitarian law obligations.

In a letter today to Nepalese Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, the acting High Commissioner expressed his sincere hope that the implementation of “His Majesty’s Government’s Commitment on the Implementation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law” would help protect civilians from the armed conflict and contribute to building confidence.

The acting High Commissioner noted that the Commitment provides for a specific monitoring role for the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC), with external technical assistance. He stressed that in order to be effective as a tool for human rights protection, the Government’s declaration needed to be accompanied by a firm commitment to nationwide monitoring of adherence to international standards, under the aegis and mandate of the NHRC. He reiterated the readiness of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide technical assistance to support the NHRC in carrying out this monitoring role.


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