Army spokesperson Brig Gen Ramindra Chhetri told myrepublica.com that the soldiers initially shortlisted to serve in various UN peacekeeping missions were later disqualified in the newly initiated vetting process, following November 2006’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Chhetri said serving in UN mission, a plum assignment which has the potential to gain incredible experience and financial security, was denied these soldiers due to alleged or proven involvement in human rights violations prior to signing of the CPA agreement.
Both Chhetri and Brig Gen Nirendra Prasad Aryal, director of the NA’s Human Rights Directorate, however, refused to give the names of those vetted out.
One suggested by military insiders to have been vetted out is Maj Gen Dilip Rayamajhi. Now retired, Rayamajhi was head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence and is believed to have been involved in the disappearance of dozens of people from the notorious Bhairavnath Battalion. Rayamajhi was initially shortlisted to serve as a deputy force commander in one of the UN missions in Africa.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Shreedhar Pokharel, said he had no record of those vetted out. “Nobody has furnished the list to the Ministry,” he told myrepublica.com.
Brig Gen Aryal said the soldiers in question are those court-marshaled by the NA, or whose cases are under consideration by the Supreme Court.
While welcoming the latest move initiated by the NA that could somewhat address the issue of impunity, human rights activists, however, question “the incomplete facts” about the vetting process undertaken by the NA.
“Vetting is good for building the army’s image,” said Mandira Sharma, a leading human rights activist. “I don’t understand why they don’t make the names public… NA never makes public findings of its investigations... They might have given the number (175) even without vetting them out.”
NA cited reasons of privacy for their failure to disclose the names of the soldiers involved.
´UN not involved in vetting process´
Richard Bennett, head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, said the UN doesn’t take part in the vetting of individual soldiers. “The onus is on the Nepalese Army to nominate candidates for peacekeeping missions, and for other types of UN service,” Bennett told myrepublica.com. “The expectation of the UN is that the Nepal Army does its own screening or vetting, and only forwards officers who have a very clean record. Both for civilian service and military service in the UN, the standards of professional competence and integrity are very high.”
Bennett said soldiers participating in UN missions are required “to testify in a document that there are no charges or investigations against any of the officers that are doing peacekeeping services for the UN”.
“So the UN, at this stage (including the OHCHR), doesn’t have a formal vetting procedure,” he said. “From time to time, however, there have been cases brought to our attention on a very ad hoc basis.”
However, Bennett said, the OHCHR forwards the names of those who have been published in its reports, such as the Bhairavnath Battalion, to the UN headquarters. They also forward such names published in government reports, like the Rayamajhi Commission.
The UN has previously expressed concerns over some names already approved by the NA. “But, I am not able to disclose the names of the individuals,” said Bennett.
tilak@myrepublica.com
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