New York, Mar 25 2010 10:10AM
The United Nations Human Rights Office in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) today expressed its continued concern over the deaths of three alleged female poachers – including a 12-year-old child – at a national park in the country's far west, calling on authorities to carry out investigations with the full cooperation of the army.
It has been two weeks since lethal force was used against the three in Bardiya National Park, but State authorities have not been able to complete their investigations, the Office said. The Nepal Army Act, which was amended in 2007, gives the Nepal Police the jurisdiction to look into incidents of alleged unlawful killings by military officials.
There have been other incidents where civilian authorities have not been able to properly investigate cases concerning the Nepal Army, it said.
For nearly two years, the District Police Office of Parsa, in south-western Nepal, has been unsuccessful in interviewing army personnel involved in the shooting of Mahendra Masrangi Magar in August 2008.
In another incident, Rajkumar Darai was killed by army personnel in Chitwan last November after reportedly throwing stones at army patrol. No army personnel have been interviewed by the police.
"In each incident the army has carried out its own investigations, but this cannot substitute for the official investigations of civilian authorities," OHCHR-Nepal said in a press release issued in Kathmandu, urging the Army to cooperate fully with the police investigation, as per the Nepal Army Act and international law.
The Office also called on the Nepal Army and National Park authorities to cooperate with the investigation being carried out by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) into the recent killings of the three women in Bardiya, including by facilitating interviews with all personnel taking part in the patrol on the day of the incident.
"While the protection of Nepal's unique wildlife is an international priority, the Bardiya incident also highlights shortcomings in legislative, operational and accountability provisions in the National Park framework," OHCHR-Nepal said.
Currently, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973 allows for the use of firearms when there is no immediate threat to life, including if a person tries to escape arrest.
These provisions are not compatible with Nepal's international obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), "and appears to have contributed to a number of unnecessary deaths," the Office said.
It also expressed concern over the Nepal Army's operational guidelines for the use of firearms while providing security in the National Parks.
"It is of the utmost importance that the Nepal Police and the National Human Rights Commission are able to conduct full, independent investigations with cooperation when Nepal Army personnel or any other authorities are alleged to have committed human rights violations," said Richard Bennett, the OHCHR Representative in Nepal.
He pointed to the "inconsistencies" between the 1973 National Parks Act and the country's human rights commitments, which have resulted in unnecessary deaths and injuries in recent years, calling for a review of the law.
Mar 25 2010 10:10AM
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