UN human rights office in Nepal deplored the appointment to the Cabinet of the South Asian country of a suspect in a case of kidnapping and murder. Agni Sapkota, the new Minister of Information and Communications, was named as a suspect in a police report in 2008 in connection with the alleged abduction and killing of Arjun Lama in 2005, according to a statement issued by the UN Human Rights Office in Nepal.


Long Lasting Insurgency Followed by Constitutional Crisis
Nepal has faced military and constitutional crisis for most of the first part of this century. While a Maoist insurgency has largely been replaced by a political process, the divisions and confrontations persist during a very delicate and plodding peace and constitutional rewrite process.


This is another potential challenge to the peace process especially since the UN is looking to further draw down its direct involvement in Nepal. In the "Lama-Sapkota" case a police report followed an order from the Supreme Court demanding that a full investigation be carried out in accordance with Nepalese law. The court’s order is yet to be carried out three years since it was issued, according to the Office. No action as yet has been taken on a recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission issued to the Government in June 2008 requesting that the case be investigated and the alleged perpetrators prosecuted.


Nepal Before UN Security Council 4 months Earlier - Secretary General's Report

The UN Security Council was briefed before the UN Mission in Nepal as such was scheduled to be completed. The United Nations top official in Nepal presented the 16th and final report on January 5, 2011 of the Secretary-General before the UN Mission in that country, known as UNMIN was scheduled to end on January 15, 2011.


Karin Landgren, then Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Representative in Nepal as well as Head of UNMIN, expressed concern to the Council about the political deadlock that has followed the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal last June. The parties “have found it extremely difficult to maintain consensus and to find satisfactory power-sharing arrangements” and said that at issue “is not merely whether a new government can be formed, but whether Nepal’s peace process can move forward without it. It appears unlikely that a new government will be in place by the time UNMIN’s mandate expires” and added that although the internal processes of all major parties have become “significantly more open, participatory, inclusive and democratic”, there is divergence within the parties “on the peace process itself.”


Speaking about the role of the UN Mission, Landgren pointed out that “although the process is still incomplete, the Mission has performed its mandated tasks” and has contributed “significantly to the peace process.”


The representative of Nepal, Gyan Chandra Acharya, stressed then that “we are not looking at the failure of the peace process” but instead, Nepal is “working hard to ensure the successful transition towards consolidation of peace.”


The Secretary-General’s report notes that the biggest challenge remaining will be to integrate 19,000 personnel from the Maoist army which fought a decade-long civil war. Other issues could also lead to fresh conflict and Ban calls on all sides to make the necessary compromises, overcome their mistrust and put the country’s needs above their partisan interests.


UN Office in Nepal Voices Concern Over Culture of Impunity

The UN Human Rights Office reiterated that the State has the responsibility to ensure that the name of a person is fully cleared in a thorough probe before any appointment to a high public office. (From UN News Centre). It said the decision to appoint Mr. Sapkota as a Cabinet minister contradicted Nepal’s commitments, as expressed during the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, towards accountability for serious human rights violations and abuses committed during the Nepalese conflict, and reinforced the culture of impunity. Jyoti Sanghera, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in Nepal offered this statement:

“My Office has consistently maintained that all allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations by all parties are promptly and thoroughly investigated,” Jyoti Sanghera, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in Nepal. Lack of accountability in cases of alleged human rights violations not only sends a message that there are no consequences for the perpetrators of such violations, but further adds to the suffering of the victims and their families who have been awaiting justice for many years.”


Peacekeeping & Rule of Law as Complementary Mandates

Nepal has been a consistent contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions (including most recently Haiti). It is ironic that when the UN Office of Peacekeeping is emphasizing the "rule of law" as part of UN mandate, that Nepal is facing this scrutiny. As the UN Office of Peacekeeping has underlined, peace and the rule of law must go hand in hand.

By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey

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