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Statements
Address by Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the launch of the Watchlist report on children in armed conflict in Nepal
26 January 2005
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26 January 2005
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission,
Representatives of Watchlist and its participating partners in Nepal,
Representatives of His Majesty’s Government,
Representatives and leaders of Nepali civil society,
Ambassadors and Representatives of the diplomatic community,
Distinguished participants and guests,
It is a great pleasure for me to be in Kathmandu and to be able to participate in the launch of the Watchlist report on children in armed conflict in Nepal. This is an impressive piece of research on a vitally important subject. I know that it is never easy to coordinate such a wide-ranging effort or to integrate all of the input provided into a coherent final product. So I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Watchlist and its major contributing partners for putting together this invaluable report that is being launched at a critical time here in Nepal.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many reasons have brought us together today. Foremost among them is to bear witness to the human rights crisis Nepal is facing and which continues to waste and cut short the lives of children and youths across the country. In nine years of fighting, the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of over 10,000 Nepalese, many of whom were innocent victims and many of whom were children under the age of 18.
Given that half of Nepal’s population is under 18 years of age and given that children have been abducted, indoctrinated and recruited into the insurgency – on a massive scale – the actual number of children who are dying in this conflict is certainly many times higher than the few hundred that have been identified. The number of unreported cases of human rights violations is usually much higher than the number of cases that do get reported, particularly in a situation of armed conflict taking place in remote areas. The scale of this conflict is thus highly likely to be much greater than can be documented at the moment, and its devastating impact will be felt in the country far into the future.
As the Watchlist report so vividly illustrates, children in Nepal are in no way protected from any of the grave and systematic human rights abuses that have victimized Nepal’s adults. Children, as with their parents, continue to be subject to abduction, executions, disappearance, torture, rape and forced labour.
In addition, children, increasingly, are coming to occupy – quite literally - the frontlines of this conflict. The Watchlist report estimates that up to 30 per cent of Maoist forces may consist of boys and girls under the age of 18. Many expect that figure to grow even higher this year.
A whole generation of Nepalis will soon come of age never having known peace. The leaders on both sides of this conflict must realize that involving children in their fight or brutalizing them with the use of indiscriminate and deadly force will serve simply to inflict tragedy and trauma on this country from which it will likely take generations to recover.
I came to Nepal to assess for myself the situation and to deliver a strong call to both sides of the conflict to take concrete steps to bring to an end the human rights crisis – and it is a crisis – that is currently gripping this country. On Monday, I participated in a conference organized by the National Human Rights Commission and during which the Human Rights Accord proposed by the Commission was formally launched. The proposed Accord aims simply to have both sides reaffirm their commitment to comply with their obligations under human rights and international humanitarian law. It further recognizes the statutory role of the National Human Rights Commission to monitor and investigate reports of human rights abuses, and it seeks to bind both sides to facilitate that monitoring and to cooperate with investigations into human rights violations.
I consider the signing of the Human Rights Accord, by both parties to the conflict, to be a critically required step on the path to peace. More urgently still, the signing of the Accord is of crucial importance as a means by which the terrible impact of the conflict on individuals throughout the country is to be alleviated. I reiterate my call here today to both sides to urgently sign the Human Rights Accord, and to live up to their responsibility to bring an end to Nepal’s human rights crisis.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is wide agreement that there is likely no military solution to the conflict. The space for peace, however, will become easier to find if the human rights of all Nepalese, wherever they are, and whomsoever they support, are respected by all in this country.
But let’s be clear: there would be something faintly absurd if I stood before you today and argued that respecting the rights of children was a good idea because, in so doing, it would enhance the prospects of peace in Nepal, true though that assertion undoubtedly is.
No, respecting the rights of children is the right thing to do because to deny them is simply wrong. It is wrong morally, and it is wrong in law. No other arguments are required.
To end this wrong, the Watchlist report prescribes a course of action with which both sides must comply as a matter of urgency. The calls made by the report are not a Utopian wish list, to be achieved over time, once the conditions improve or once one side or the other makes the first overture of peace. They are a set of imperatives which must be met now. History will show no sympathy – only contempt – for those who fail in this regard.
Key among the Watchlist recommendations are the calls upon the Maoists to:
· Immediately end the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18, and take all appropriate measures to demobilize those already in armed ranks, including those in support functions;
· Immediately halt all violations against children and adolescents in Nepal, including killing and maiming, rape and sexual violence;
· Immediately halt the abduction of students and forced participation in “cultural” and other related programs;
· Immediately cease all attacks on schools or the use of schools for military or support purposes, and halt all threats, intimidation, abductions and attacks against teachers; and,
· Publicly commit to upholding all applicable international humanitarian law and human rights regarding the protection of children in armed conflict.
The Government, for its part, needs to recognize its pre-eminent responsibility to protect its population and ensure that its own forces operate in strict compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law standards. In this regard, the Watchlist report urges His Majesty’s Government to:
· Immediately halt all violations against the security and rights of children, ensure compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
· End impunity for violations against children by actively and promptly conducting independent, impartial, public investigations into atrocities against children, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence; and,
· Cooperate with the international community to establish programmes aimed at remedying human rights violations against children, such as through strengthening independent monitoring and through initiatives for the demobilization and rehabilitation of children.
The United Nations, and my Office in particular, stands ready to provide human rights support as an essential part of peace building efforts in Nepal, in particular assistance in building a national human rights capacity for an eventual peace-settlement, including institutional strengthening and possible transitional justice initiatives.
At the same time, however, it must be recognized that capacity building and technical advice cannot and should never be seen as a substitute for concrete and credible action by those with power to protect all civilians and other non-combatants, including in particular children.
To help with the implementation of the recommendations outlined above, there is an urgent need for an effective monitoring and reporting capacity to be put in place, one that fully marshals the networks and expertise of Nepal’s rich civil society. As the Watchlist report demonstrates, securing reliable information is vital if an issue such as this one is to be adequately highlighted and brought to the attention of those with the power to act. To achieve this, the continued, and enhanced, support for civil society in this country from the international community, including the United Nations system, will be necessary and I call on all concerned in the international community to redouble their efforts in this regard.
In closing, I would once again like to thank Watchlist and its partners, including CARE International, for this valuable report and for inviting me to participate in its launch. It has also been an important occasion for my office and the United Nations to reiterate our concern over the situation faced by Nepal’s children, who are at the centre of the ongoing armed conflict. We renew our pledge to assist our national and international partners in their urgent efforts to bring peace back to this country and to restore a future for its children.
Thank you.
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission,
Representatives of Watchlist and its participating partners in Nepal,
Representatives of His Majesty’s Government,
Representatives and leaders of Nepali civil society,
Ambassadors and Representatives of the diplomatic community,
Distinguished participants and guests,
It is a great pleasure for me to be in Kathmandu and to be able to participate in the launch of the Watchlist report on children in armed conflict in Nepal. This is an impressive piece of research on a vitally important subject. I know that it is never easy to coordinate such a wide-ranging effort or to integrate all of the input provided into a coherent final product. So I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Watchlist and its major contributing partners for putting together this invaluable report that is being launched at a critical time here in Nepal.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many reasons have brought us together today. Foremost among them is to bear witness to the human rights crisis Nepal is facing and which continues to waste and cut short the lives of children and youths across the country. In nine years of fighting, the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of over 10,000 Nepalese, many of whom were innocent victims and many of whom were children under the age of 18.
Given that half of Nepal’s population is under 18 years of age and given that children have been abducted, indoctrinated and recruited into the insurgency – on a massive scale – the actual number of children who are dying in this conflict is certainly many times higher than the few hundred that have been identified. The number of unreported cases of human rights violations is usually much higher than the number of cases that do get reported, particularly in a situation of armed conflict taking place in remote areas. The scale of this conflict is thus highly likely to be much greater than can be documented at the moment, and its devastating impact will be felt in the country far into the future.
As the Watchlist report so vividly illustrates, children in Nepal are in no way protected from any of the grave and systematic human rights abuses that have victimized Nepal’s adults. Children, as with their parents, continue to be subject to abduction, executions, disappearance, torture, rape and forced labour.
In addition, children, increasingly, are coming to occupy – quite literally - the frontlines of this conflict. The Watchlist report estimates that up to 30 per cent of Maoist forces may consist of boys and girls under the age of 18. Many expect that figure to grow even higher this year.
A whole generation of Nepalis will soon come of age never having known peace. The leaders on both sides of this conflict must realize that involving children in their fight or brutalizing them with the use of indiscriminate and deadly force will serve simply to inflict tragedy and trauma on this country from which it will likely take generations to recover.
I came to Nepal to assess for myself the situation and to deliver a strong call to both sides of the conflict to take concrete steps to bring to an end the human rights crisis – and it is a crisis – that is currently gripping this country. On Monday, I participated in a conference organized by the National Human Rights Commission and during which the Human Rights Accord proposed by the Commission was formally launched. The proposed Accord aims simply to have both sides reaffirm their commitment to comply with their obligations under human rights and international humanitarian law. It further recognizes the statutory role of the National Human Rights Commission to monitor and investigate reports of human rights abuses, and it seeks to bind both sides to facilitate that monitoring and to cooperate with investigations into human rights violations.
I consider the signing of the Human Rights Accord, by both parties to the conflict, to be a critically required step on the path to peace. More urgently still, the signing of the Accord is of crucial importance as a means by which the terrible impact of the conflict on individuals throughout the country is to be alleviated. I reiterate my call here today to both sides to urgently sign the Human Rights Accord, and to live up to their responsibility to bring an end to Nepal’s human rights crisis.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is wide agreement that there is likely no military solution to the conflict. The space for peace, however, will become easier to find if the human rights of all Nepalese, wherever they are, and whomsoever they support, are respected by all in this country.
But let’s be clear: there would be something faintly absurd if I stood before you today and argued that respecting the rights of children was a good idea because, in so doing, it would enhance the prospects of peace in Nepal, true though that assertion undoubtedly is.
No, respecting the rights of children is the right thing to do because to deny them is simply wrong. It is wrong morally, and it is wrong in law. No other arguments are required.
To end this wrong, the Watchlist report prescribes a course of action with which both sides must comply as a matter of urgency. The calls made by the report are not a Utopian wish list, to be achieved over time, once the conditions improve or once one side or the other makes the first overture of peace. They are a set of imperatives which must be met now. History will show no sympathy – only contempt – for those who fail in this regard.
Key among the Watchlist recommendations are the calls upon the Maoists to:
· Immediately end the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18, and take all appropriate measures to demobilize those already in armed ranks, including those in support functions;
· Immediately halt all violations against children and adolescents in Nepal, including killing and maiming, rape and sexual violence;
· Immediately halt the abduction of students and forced participation in “cultural” and other related programs;
· Immediately cease all attacks on schools or the use of schools for military or support purposes, and halt all threats, intimidation, abductions and attacks against teachers; and,
· Publicly commit to upholding all applicable international humanitarian law and human rights regarding the protection of children in armed conflict.
The Government, for its part, needs to recognize its pre-eminent responsibility to protect its population and ensure that its own forces operate in strict compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law standards. In this regard, the Watchlist report urges His Majesty’s Government to:
· Immediately halt all violations against the security and rights of children, ensure compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
· End impunity for violations against children by actively and promptly conducting independent, impartial, public investigations into atrocities against children, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence; and,
· Cooperate with the international community to establish programmes aimed at remedying human rights violations against children, such as through strengthening independent monitoring and through initiatives for the demobilization and rehabilitation of children.
The United Nations, and my Office in particular, stands ready to provide human rights support as an essential part of peace building efforts in Nepal, in particular assistance in building a national human rights capacity for an eventual peace-settlement, including institutional strengthening and possible transitional justice initiatives.
At the same time, however, it must be recognized that capacity building and technical advice cannot and should never be seen as a substitute for concrete and credible action by those with power to protect all civilians and other non-combatants, including in particular children.
To help with the implementation of the recommendations outlined above, there is an urgent need for an effective monitoring and reporting capacity to be put in place, one that fully marshals the networks and expertise of Nepal’s rich civil society. As the Watchlist report demonstrates, securing reliable information is vital if an issue such as this one is to be adequately highlighted and brought to the attention of those with the power to act. To achieve this, the continued, and enhanced, support for civil society in this country from the international community, including the United Nations system, will be necessary and I call on all concerned in the international community to redouble their efforts in this regard.
In closing, I would once again like to thank Watchlist and its partners, including CARE International, for this valuable report and for inviting me to participate in its launch. It has also been an important occasion for my office and the United Nations to reiterate our concern over the situation faced by Nepal’s children, who are at the centre of the ongoing armed conflict. We renew our pledge to assist our national and international partners in their urgent efforts to bring peace back to this country and to restore a future for its children.
Thank you.