OHCHR to close its Western Regional Office

KATHMANDU, June 30: OHCHR-Nepal will close its Western Regional Office (WRO) in Pokhara as part of its downsizing and restructuring, a press release issued by OHCHR said Tuesday.



The release further said that as of July 1, OHCHR-Nepal will have three regional offices, based in Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Nepalgunj, a sub-office in Janakpur and a project office in Dhangadhi, in addition to its headquarters.



OHCHR informed that overall staffing will be approximately 102 posts (80 national, 22 international) compared to 177 posts in December 2007 when OHCHR-Nepal peaked (103 national, 74 international). The office now has 41 staff members (23 national and 18 international) who work directly on human rights issues. "This downsizing necessitated the closure of the WRO and the conversion of the Far Western Regional Office in Dhangadhi into a smaller project office," the press release added.



The release quoted OHCHR-Nepal Representative Richard Bennett as saying that the Central Regional Office (Kathmandu) and Mid-Western Regional Office (Nepalgunj) will continue to work in the Western region in close partnership with the NHRC and civil society organizations, with which the Western Regional Office developed links over the past four years.

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