An emergency meeting of the commissioners on Friday condemned the attack on a NHRC monitoring team by protestors at Jutpani of Nawalpur VDC, Sarlahi on Thursday and took the decision to recall the monitoring teams for now.
"All monitoring teams have been called back for the moment until a conducive environment is created for them to discharge their responsibilities as per the provisions laid out in the constitution," stated a press release issued by NHRC Spokesperson Mohana Ansari.
"The commission concludes that independent monitoring has been adversely impacted by such an incident at a time when the United Nations and the international community have time and time again expressed concern over the agitation in the Tarai-Madhes," added NHRC.
According to NHRC, protestors reportedly manhandled a team led by Human Rights Officer Neetu Gadtaula and including Mandira Shrestha, Biva Dhungana and Shreeram Karki that was deployed to monitor the ongoing protest in Madhes. The protestors torched their vehicle, camera, important documents and jackets meant to identify the team members as monitors.
The Commission has urged the agitating parties to show sensitivity towards human rights, ordinary citizens, journalists and human rights defenders, refrain immediately from attacking ambulances engaged in their humanitarian service, and organize their protests in a peaceful manner.
"The Commission is seriously concerned over such a barbaric incident at a time when the central leadership of the agitating UDMF has approached it and put forward both written and verbal appeals to monitor the protests from a human rights perspective," stated the press release.
Recalling the unhindered monitoring in the past, the Commission has condemned the incidents of arson against ambulances ferrying patients, setting people on fire live, and vandalizing vehicles laden with medicines.
Likewise, the Commission has drawn the attention of the government and the concerned authorities towards the right to life, right to health, right to education, the blockage of food and essential goods and services, and the safety and protection of human rights defenders, media persons and persons on duty to discharge humanitarian services.
"The Commission is not avoiding its constitutional responsibility. The decision on calling back our teams was taken to highlight the challenging situation as well as to analyze the challenges," Ansari told Republica.
"The monitoring teams are under serious risk following the Nawalpur incident. As per our report, our team was under serious threat at Nawalpur. It was in this situation that we decided to call them back," she added.
Former commissioner Sushil Pyakurel said that the Nawalpur incident was a serious one and the NHRC decision should not be seen as escaping from its responsibility.
"So far as I'm concerned, this is the first time that a NHRC monitoring team has been attacked. Incidents of such a serious nature should be condemned and the Commission has done that," said Pyakurel.
"The Commission should go back to monitoring but the leaders of the agitation should understand the seriousness of the attack and act more responsibly. It was an attack on a constitutional body that had the responsibility of monitoring the state of human rights in all situations," he added.
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