Perhaps owing to the government’s commitment to ‘zero tolerance’ of crimes and criminals, the number of criminals arrested by Nepal Police on serious crimes has inched up to 4,000 over the last three fiscal years, including 80 foreign nationals. But it might safely be assumed that as many (if not more) are never punished for their crimes. For this it is not just the police which is to be blamed, but in equal part, also the political establishment.
Police have not been able to make steady headway in crime control, the principal reason being the political actors who continue to endlessly meddle in security agencies. Moreover, effective implementation of law and order has been hampered by the prolonged transition.
Conflict of interest and fragility mark the governance system, which in turn fuel crimes. The high rate of unemployment and lack of opportunities for the youth make them perfect fodder for criminal groups.
This situation calls for an efficient and effective management of public security system. Maintaining peace and ensuring peace and safety of its citizens are among the state’s primary responsibility, especially during a transition period. In this effort, while the political parties should show more commitment, responsibility also lies on the shoulders of security forces that implement government policies. These forces need substantive reform: in physical and psychological capacity-building, community policing, and strengthening of criminal investigation and protection and promotion of human rights.
Security sector reform (SSR) is one of the major components of the peace process; it needs to be prioritized more in government planning. Although the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement does not have specific provisions on SSR, it accepts it as a major ingredient of the peace process. As per the spirit of CPA, enshrined in new laws, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force are expected to help maintain peace, law and order, as well as to carry out criminal investigations.
SSR-related activities, from formulation of national security policy to reengineering the security system to be more citizen-centric and democratization of the forces, are yet to be carried out.
It is a tragedy that the state still does not have a national security policy, despite a series of meetings to finalize its draft, which was subsequently submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers nearly one and a half years ago by the Ministry of Home Affairs. This policy vacuum affects security-related decision making which are now carried out in an ad hoc basis.
At this time, SSR is important in order to maintain law and order, build peace, promote democracy and protect human rights. Vital reforms in Nepal Police and APF are urgent in order to modernize and professionalize there forces, thereby increasing their accountability.
What we find today is the trust gap between the security forces and community members. Winning the hearts and minds of Nepalis is the major challenging task for our security forces. Social capital-building at community level can help sustain community policing and build trust and cooperation between police and communities. SSR will play an instrument role in all these areas.
Another important issue SSR can help address is impunity. All major political outfits in the country seem to have colluded to grant ´blanket amnesty´ to all those involved in various crimes during the conflict. This has predictably been a matter of great concern among human rights activists and organizations. It isn’t hard to see that blanket amnesty rewards criminals and prolongs impunity. Impunity and insecurity in turn undermine human rights. It might also lead to disastrous consequences like to mutiny in police organizations, as has been noticed in some other parts of the world. A visionary decision on SSR is called to put an end to serious rights violation and deliver justice to all conflict victims.
The importance of SSR, as we see, spans much beyond proper management and reform of the existing security forces.
The writer is former Home Secretary
Kusum100@hotmail.com
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