A statement issued by OHCHR-Nepal said it shared with the family members information on the aims of and findings contained in a recently released OHCHR report on the disappearances and on the "Office’s advocacy strategy to advance the report’s recommendations". [break]
Though the 96-page report, released on 19 December 2008, documented 170 disappearance cases – 156 by the state and 14 by the Maoists – that took place between December 2001 and January 2003, it couldn´t draw adequate media attention, unlike a previous OHCHR report on the Bhairavnath disappearances that hogged both national and international headlines.
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This was the highest number of conflict-related disappearances in one district in the country. A whopping 85 percent of the disappeared belonged to the indigenous Tharu community.
During its meeting with the victims´ families on Saturday, OHCHR suggested to them how they could use the report as an advocacy tool.
“OHCHR-Nepal is using the report to work with the government and the CPN-Maoist in Bardiya and at the national level to implement its recommendations on disappearances, including the establishment of a commission of inquiry on disappearances," the OHCHR statement quoted OHCHR official Katia Chirizzi as telling the families. “It is important that you carry on, with this report as a tool to support your demands.”
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