ANNUAL REPORT 2004
7.2.4. Responsibilities on the basis of International Commitments on Human
Rights
As regards the report on international conventions, there have been indications of reform
accruing from the positive initiatives taken by the Commission in the course of fulfilling its
responsibilities. However, HMG has sent the 2nd and 3rd periodic reports of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 15th and
16 th periodic reports (CERD/C.452.Add, 2) of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the 2nd and 3rd reports of the
Convention on Child Rights (CRC) without the counsel of the Commission. Due to the
uncooperative attitude of HMG, the Commission faces problems in executing its rights
given by law.
7.2.5. Disappearances and other serious human rights violations and
action of complaints
Most of the complaints filed at the Commission deal with disappearances, abductions, illegal
arrests and physical and mental torture. As per Clause 14 of the present Constitution, the
fundamental rights of the people say arrests must be made only as per law, an arrest
warrant must be produced, torture and cruel behaviour are not to be allowed, a detention
notice must be served, those arrested must be produced before a judicial authority within
24 hours, one cannot be forced to stand witness against oneself and the right to seek the
services of a legal professional. Clauses 23 and 88 have also given the right to remedy.
Other fundamental rights include the right to life and freedom, and presenting sufficient
basis for preventive detention.
Apart from this, the Civil Rights Act 2012, Torture and Compensation Act 2053 make
mention of related provisions, but no act or law has been formulated addressing
disappearances. HMG has committed itself respecting human rights and humanitarian law
through the 26 March 2004 declaration. It includes provisions made in the constitutional
and other laws as well as human rights, humanistic law and fundamentals of criminal justice.
Topics such as arrests, detention, initiation of court proceedings, services of legal professionals,
facilities to be provided at the detention centre, compensation for torture and strong
evidence supporting transfer or release from detention have been included in its preparation.
The particulars of those persons who have gone missing or abducted based on the petitions
filed at the Commission during this report period are given in the Annex 5. Human rights
organisations have taken up this issue seriously, and Amnesty International has listed Nepal
at the top of the countries with the most number of disappearances, while the working
group of the United Nations working against disappearances has also taken up the matter
seriously.
Disappearances following arrests and abductions are crimes against humanity, and such acts
should be controlled immediately. The task of bringing the perpetrators of such acts within
the legal framework is becoming late. To the state’s response that it had not made any
arrests, most of the people have given written statements to the Commission of not only
their arrests but also details about where they were detained and the torture meted out.
This has put a big question mark over the credibility of the government’s response. At a
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