KATHMANDU: Amnesty International has stated that security forces resorted to excessive force during peaceful protests in Nepal.
In an annual report 2020-21, the international human rights watchdog stated that security personnel continued to detain activists and frequently resorted to excessive force to disperse peaceful protesters.
The report states that the government failed to deliver truth, justice, and reparation for thousands of victims of crimes under international law and human rights violations committed during 1996-2006 armed
conflict.
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, which together had collected more than 63,000 complaints of crimes committed by state security forces and armed opposition groups, failed to carry out effective and independent investigations” states the report.
The report has accused the ruling party of continuing to appoint people implicated in conflict-era crimes to positions of power without thorough and independent investigations.
On a separate note, Amnesty International said that the government failed to protect the rights of hundreds of thousands of Nepali migrant workers stranded abroad as COVID-19 lockdowns came into force.
“It failed to ensure the protection and affordable repatriation of migrant workers through the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund. The authorities also failed to ensure adequate standards of living and protect the health and safety of several returnee migrant workers in COVID-19 quarantine facilities,” it stated in the report.
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