Part Six CRITICAL ISSUES A. People are facing a grave threat to past developments and further progress in the field of human rights due to the conflict between the State and the Maoists. N epal is slipping into a deep crisis because of the protracted violent conflict between the State and the Maoists. There have been two ceasefires within the last two years, but both broke down ensuing a new wave of violence. Over seven thousand people have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced. The violence has seriously infringed the right to life and liberty. Violation of Common Article 3 of Geneva Conventions by both sides is common. Education of children has been seriously affected due to the closure of schools in the areas affected by the conflict. Food and medicine supplies are critically affected. The Maoists have used children in the conflict. At the time of the declaration of the second ceasefire, over 17,000 people, including children, have been displaced and the actual number of people still under detention, both legal and illegal, is not known. The number has increased since the break up of the second ceasefire. Extortion and kidnapping by the Maoists have continued even during the second ceasefire period. The House of Representative remains dissolved and the possibility of elections taking place is remote. Mainstream political parties are at loggerheads over the legitimacy of the government. As a result, the country is plagued by a grim human rights situation. Yet, there is no sign of lasting peace, which remains the desire of the 2.3 million people of Nepal. It is critically important that both the State and 14 the Maoists declare ceasefire, sign a peace agreement and fully respect the human rights norms. Equally important is the need to deliver justice to the victims of the conflict and address human rights related root causes of the conflict. B. A number of fundamental rights of Nepalese people are not adequately protected. The advent of multi-party system of governance in 1990 has brought some significant improvements in the situation of fundamental rights – a notable achievement is the guarantee of certain fundamental rights by the Constitution of 1990. However, a lot more effort and work are needed to raise the standards of respect for fundamental rights to a satisfactory level. At its present status, the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution remain either curtailed or violated. For example, the right to equality and liberty, guaranteed under the Article 11 of the Constitution, remains to be implemented effectively, for discriminations are pervasive in the society. Right to life, liberty and fair trial: Since the beginning of the conflict in 1996, both the state and the non-state parties have violated the right to life and liberty of people. Occurrences of killings, disappearances, use of human shields, arbitrary arrests, detention, abductions, torture and