NEW YORK: International rights bodies have demanded immediate withdrawal of an ordinance that “undermines the independence of constitutional human rights bodies and rescind recent appointments” made without consultation or parliamentary approval.
The Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and Amnesty International, issuing a statement on Monday saying that these government actions have undermined public trust and confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and other constitutional bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Election Commission (EC).
It said that the illegitimate appointments process will lead to “ineffective and weak implementation” of critical mandates to protect human rights and other rule of law objectives.
“The government’s actions are a severe dent in Nepal’s long struggle for a rule of law-based constitution, which was finally adopted in 2015 to guarantee human rights,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Ganguly said it is sad to see some of the same politicians who drafted the Constitution playing fast and loose with the charter just a few years later.
It should be noted that President Bidya Devi Bhandari, had on December 15 2020, endorsed an ordinance to amend the law governing the Constitutional Council, paving the way to make appointments to the constitutional bodies.
“In a context where repeated calls for institutional reforms have gone unheeded for decades, this move by the government further weakens the effectiveness of constitutional bodies that are supposed to be beacons of hope for victims of human rights violations and abuses,” said Mandira Sharma, senior international legal adviser at ICJ.
“Independence, impartiality and legitimacy are preconditions for these bodies to effectively and efficiently deliver their mandates.”
Meanwhile, the Accountability Watch Committee, a group of prominent human rights defenders in Nepal, had on February 12, issued a statement saying that they would not “cooperate and engage with the NHRC and other constitutional bodies until the Supreme Court’s decision.”
It had also asked the United Nations, diplomatic missions in Nepal and international organizations not to give legitimacy and cooperate with this appointment process which is currently sub-judice at the Supreme Court of Nepal.
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