In a joint statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said the presence of OHCHR-N in Nepal is critical to ensure promotion and protection of human rights issues during the transitional period. [break]
"The UN still has an important role to play as the country moves toward adopting a new constitution and establishing transitional justice mechanisms," HRW and ICJ said in the statement.
The current mandate of the UN rights body expires on Thursday and the government has already communicated to the senior OHCHR-N officials that the term will not be extended beyond Thursday.
The organizations have also asked the political parties to respect the commitment they have made in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by extending the term of the OHCHR-N.
They argued that Article 7 of the CPA is dedicated to the protection of a comprehensive set of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights, and OHCHR, according to Article 9, is mandated to monitor the implementation of those rights.
“It is clear from the peace agreement that the UN human rights office should remain in Nepal to monitor human rights issues until the peace process is concluded,” said Frederick Rawski, Country Representative for the International Commission of Jurists in Kathmandu. “The government refusing to extend OHCHR´s mandate would mean flouting the commitments made in the CPA.”
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