HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE IN NEPAL SAYS GOVERNMENT OBSTRUCTING ABILITY TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION

20 April 2006

Kieran Dwyer, Spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, issued the following statement today from Kathmandu:

“Since last night we have been making strong efforts to ensure that our human rights teams can move freely throughout the Kathmandu Valley today. We have been denied curfew passes, thus obstructing our ability to monitor the human rights situation as we have in previous situations of curfew.

The authorities have told us that we can have limited movement between our residences and office, and insisted that this can only take place under police escort. However, the authorities have informed our Office that they will not allow our human rights monitoring teams to be deployed in Kathmandu Valley during the curfew.

This obstruction is a clear violation of the agreement between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Nepal setting out the mandate of our Office, which provides that OHCHR-Nepal shall have ‘freedom of movement ... throughout Nepal’.”

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