NEPAL: Government must act on extrajudicial killings

Photo: Naresh Newar/IRIN

Devi Sunuwar waits for justice for her daughter, Maina, who was killed after being detained by the military

KATHMANDU, 13 November 2009 (IRIN) - The government’s continued failure to investigate and prosecute extrajudicial killings during Nepal’s civil war (1996-2006) is ruining lives and devastating victims’ families, while creating a culture of impunity, the UN and rights activists say.
 
Families are still struggling to find justice and see the prosecution of the alleged perpetrators of abuses and killings during the Maoist rebellion.
 
“There is so much frustration among the families of victims as the denial of justice is totally devastating their lives,” Mandira Sharma, a prominent human rights lawyer and executive director of Advocacy Forum, told IRIN.
 
The human rights NGO has been assisting families of the victims of extrajudicial killings to lobby the government to prosecute the perpetrators.
 
“So many of them have been displaced, become impoverished and their livelihoods destroyed every day as they fight for justice,” said Sharma, outlining the toll on families in their struggle.
 
During the conflict, security forces committed hundreds of extrajudicial killings and widespread torture, while the Maoist rebels also abducted, tortured and killed civilians, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
 
Rights groups allege that the perpetrators remain protected by the Nepal Army and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPNM).
 
Hardship for the families
 
On 17 February 2004, Maina Sunuwar, 15, was abducted, tortured and killed by uniformed soldiers from the Nepal Army, who falsely accused her of being a Maoist rebel.
 
Two months later, officials at army headquarters admitted to Maina’s mother, Devi, that her daughter had died while in detention.
 
Following pressure from the international community, human rights groups and the UN, the military took steps to conduct an internal inquiry into three officers allegedly involved in the killing. (See report by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - OHCHR)
 
However, they were only charged with minor offences and were released after serving six months’ imprisonment.
 

Photo: Naresh Newar/IRIN

The Maoist rebels are equally blamed for serious human rights violations

Although it became the most high-profile case of an extrajudicial killing and has been held up as an example of a lack of accountability over conflict-related human rights abuses, Sunuwar, 40, has yet to win justice.
 
“I survive only for the sake of finding justice for my daughter,” an emotional Devi Sunuwar told IRIN. “Now I am hanging [on] to that hope.”
 
Devi and her husband fled their village in Kavre District, about 50km south of the capital, for fear of being targeted over their daughter’s case, and live in extreme poverty in Kathmandu. She suffers from serious health problems and cannot afford any medicine.
 
“So many families have been devastated, not only due to lack of justice, but watching these perpetrators walk scot-free,” said Sharma.
 
Not one prosecution
 
Advocacy Forum has listed more than 60 cases of extremely violent extrajudicial killings but the government has failed to prosecute anyone.
 
“Concrete measures have to be taken, starting with successful prosecutions so that messages are sent that there are consequences for wrongdoing,” Richard Bennett, OHCHR representative in Nepal, told IRIN.
 
“The aim is to create a culture of accountability to replace the culture of impunity,” he said.
 
Bennett said the lack of prosecutions for serious human rights violations was encouraging impunity in the country.
 
“The conflict has finished, but there have been serious politically-related crimes which have not been addressed,” he said.
 
The UN and human rights groups say they are mostly concerned about obstacles created by the military and the Maoists to prevent police investigations of extrajudicial killings.
 
The Nepal Army has denied the allegations of abuse and killings, and officials told IRIN they were committed to the rule of law and would abide by any court decisions relating to cases.
 
But activists say such rhetoric is not enough.
 
“The government could start by taking on a few emblematic cases to send a message widely across the board that it intends to move forward to end this culture of impunity,” said Sarah Levit-Shore, the country director of the international rights NGO, The Carter Center.
 
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