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IDHAE INFORMATION
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According to the
information received, while
on a regular visit to the
police detention centre of Banke
district on May 29, 2007, the lawyers of Advocacy Forum were denied any access
to the detainees by the District Police Office
(DPO). When the regional
office of Advocacy Forum in Midwestern,
Banke district, attempted
to regain access to the detention
centre by phoning the Chief of the DPO and the Superintendent of Police (SP), Mr. Uttam
Kark, the latter justified
this denial by the fact that Advocacy
Forum would have “made unnecessary
reports stating that Bablu Rai was tortured by the police”. Indeed, on May 22, 2007, Advocacy
Forum had lodged a
complaint to the District Court of Banke on behalf of Mr. Bablu Rai, currently detained at the District Police Office of Banke
and who was subjected to acts of torture while in detention. On May 31, 2007, lawyers from the Regional Office of Advocacy
Forum in Nepalgunj met Mr. Uttam
Kark and the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr. Kuber
Kadayat, to discuss the
impasse. There, Mr. Uttam Kark
blamed Advocacy Forum for
giving the DPO “unnecessary
burdens”, and questioned
the relationship between
the lawyers of Advocacy
Forum and the DPO detainees, before
stating that lawyers of Advocacy Forum would need a
written request from the detainees to have access to them. Furthermore, he accused Advocacy Forum of fabricating Mr. Bablu Rai’s claim and promised that he “would
continue to work on his own terms”. Finally, on June 3, 2007, representatives from the
central office of Advocacy Forum in Kathmandu met Mr. Manoj K.C., of the Human
Rights Police Cell in the
Kathmandu Police Headquarters,
who stated that he would
discuss with the higher office at police headquarter and try to solve the problem soon. However, no progress has yet been made. Advocacy Forum is a leading
non-profit, non-governmental organization
working to promote the rule of law and uphold international human rights standards in Nepal. In
2001, Mandira Sharma helped
found the Advocacy Forum,
a Nepali NGO that has played a crucial role in defending the rights of Nepali people caught in the
brutal civil war between Maoist insurgents and the Nepali government. Advocacy Forum addresses cases
of human rights
violations while providing
free legal assistance to victims
of torture and others in need.
Advocacy Forum has five regional offices
in Kathmandu, Biratnagar,
Pokhara, Nepalgunj and Kanchanpur
as well as seven district
offices in Udayapur, Kapilvastu,
Surkhet, Bardia, Dhanusha, Baglung and Rupendehi, our central office being located in Baluwatar, Kathmandu. Through these twelve offices, with the
assistance of over 100 workers including
lawyers, volunteers and interns, we focus on five core activities: documentation
of cases of human rights
violations, monitoring of detention centers, providing legal aid to the victims of human rights violations, juvenile
justice and international lobbying and advocacy Actions required: Please write to the Nepalese authorities urging them to: i. Guarantee
in all circumstances the physical
and psychological integrity
of Advocacy Forum lawyers; ii. Ensure
that Advocacy Forum be granted again
an immediate access to detainees in police stations and put an end to any kind of obstacle to their work; iii. Put an end to any kind of act
of harassment and threats
against Advocacy Forum lawyers as well as against all human rights defenders in the country; iv. Conform
with the provisions of the UN Declaration
on Human Rights Defenders,
adopted by the General Assembly
of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually
and in association with others,
to promote and to strive
for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”
and article 12.2, which states that
“the State shall take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with
others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,
pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence
of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”; v. Ensure
in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
accordance with international human
rights standards and international instruments ratified by Nepal. Addresses : · His Majesty King Gyanendra, Narayanhity Royal Palace, Durbar
Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal, c/o Permanent Mission of the Kingdom
of Nepal to the United Nations, 81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland,
Fax: +4122 733 27 22; E-mail: mission.nepal@ties.itu.int · Mr. Girija
Prasad Koirala, Prime Minister,
Singh Durbar, Kathmandu,
E-mail : info @opm.gov.np · Mr. Nayan
Bahadur Khatri, Chairman
of the National Human Rights
Commission, Pulchowck, Lalitpur,
Nepal; E-mail: nhrc@ntc.net.np · Home Minister
Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Government
of Nepal, Ministry of
Home Affairs, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel: +977 1 4211211 / 4211229, Fax: 97714211232
Email: moha@wlink.com.np · Mr. Baman
Prasad Neupane, HR Cell, Government of Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel: + 977 1
4 211 205/ 97714211206 Fax: +977 1 4211266 · Mr. Yagya
Murti Banjade, Attorney
General, Office of the Attorney General, Ramshahpath,
Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax :
+97714262582, Email : attorney@mos.com.np · Mr. Shaha
Bir Thapa, Inspector General of the Armed
Police Force, Armed Police Headquarters,
Swayam, Nepal, Fax: + 977
1 4 275 685, E-mail: armedpolice@wlink.com.np · IGP Om Bikram
Rana, Chief, Nepal Police Head Quarter, Naxal,
Kathmandu, Nepal, PO. Box
No.: 407, Tel: +977 1 4 412 737 / +977 1 4 412 732, Fax: +977 1 4 415 593.
Email : phqigs@nepalpolice.com.np · SP Nava
Raj Silwal, HR Cell, Nepal Police Head Quarter, Naxal,
Kathmandu, Nepal PO. Box.
No.: 407, Tel: +977 1 4 411 618 Fax : 9771415593 E-mail:
hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np TAKE ACTION NOW !
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