"We call on all parties involved on both sides of the Nepal-India border to immediately ensure effective, safe and rapid passage of supplies," said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani in a statement issued from Geneva on Tuesday. "We have been urging all parties to engage in a meaningful, inclusive and open dialogue, to create a climate where minority and dissenting views are respected."
The spokesperson said the UN body calls on the authorities to work with the National Human Rights Commission to ensure that the concerns of the protestors are heard and constructive solutions are found. It is crucial that all parties involved work together toward a fair and sustainable resolution of this situation, reads the statement.
The UN body said it is alarmed by reports that at least four people have been killed and many injured, from both sides, in violent clashes over the weekend during protests in the tarai area of southern Nepal. The latest killings bring to at least 50 the death toll in protests against the new constitution.
"There is conflicting information about how the events unfolded late Saturday night, particularly about how the violence began," reads the statement. "Reports suggest that protestors in front of the district police station in Saptari pelted stones and used other violence against the police, who then responded with the use of live ammunition." OHCHR also received allegations that after protestors were taken to nearby Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital for treatment, police entered the hospital and assaulted the protestors and hospital staff.
It has underscored the need for an independent investigation to establish the facts and bring all perpetrators of violence to justice. The UN body urged Nepali authorities to ensure that existing national and international standards on the appropriate use of force are fully respected by security forces. "Unfortunately, reports suggest that these steps do not appear to have been taken and more lives have been lost. The protestors must also renounce the use of violence," it added.
Stating that in addition to 50 deaths, many more individuals have been injured, the statement said many more have been prevented from working, prevented from going to school or from receiving essential medical treatment.
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