INSEC’s human rights activities in Nepal
8 August 2008 3:48 am

FORUM-ASIA’s member organisation in Nepal – Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) – has recently issued a report on ‘Sexual Violence Against Women in Nepal’.

INSEC has also made a statement regarding property confiscation during conflict, and updated us on their progress in the Universal Periodic Review report. Recently, INSEC held a training on UN Human Rights Protection System. Read about INSEC’s recent activities inside.

INSEC demands CPN (Maoist) to return confiscated property

On 9 July 2008, Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) expressed concern over the statement by one of the CPN (Maoist) member at Constituent Assembly that his party would not return the properties seized by its cadres during the decade-long conflict. Mr. Salikram Jamarkattel, a member of the Constituent Assembly from the CPN (Maoist) made the statement on 26 June 2008 which INSEC says clearly violates the 7-point agreement of 25 June 2008 in which the CPN (Maoist) agreed to immediately announce the return of captured land and properties within 15 days.  Read the statement here.

INSEC unveils report on sexual violence against women in Nepal

FORUM-ASIA member Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) published a report “Sexual Violence against Women in Nepal” on 10 June. The report is based on the cases reported in 2007.

The report analyses the characteristics of the victims and perpetrators, access to justice as well as protection for the victims under domestic and international laws.

In 2007, out of the 216 reports by victims received by INSEC, 144 were women, with about 16 girls below 10. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found 28 out of 34 victims as being under 18.

The report cautioned that the possible under reporting of rape of women can be due to fear of stigmatisation of the victims. It further notes that rape is rampant in Bhutanese refugee camps.

There are also instances of rape of girls by male relatives and security persons, and rape of disabled women and girls.

“INSEC’s data shows that normally no action is taken against the perpetrator or when he is arrested, he is released after few days. In almost half of the cases, the perpetrator is not being charged with any criminal offence”, the report says. For full report:  read here.

Nepalese NGOs begin work on the Universal Periodic Review

NGOs in Nepal have begun the groundwork to prepare for the report on the Universal Periodic Review undertaken by UN Human Rights Council. The report will be sent to the OHCHR. A coalition of over 50 human rights organisations- Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (HRTMCC) organised a day-long training on 8 July for the human rights organisations to introduce the mechanism and to discuss the modalities for reporting. Nepal will be reviewed in 2011.

Training on UN Human Rights Protection System

The Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (HRTMCC) held a day-long training on United Nations Human Rights Protection System (UNHRPS) on 8 July in Kathmandu.

FORUM-ASIA’s member in Nepal INSEC is the secretariat of the HRTMCC which is a coalition of more than 50 organisations.

The training was organised to introduce reforms in the UNHRPS, UN Human Rights Council and to discuss the report for the UPR by human rights organizations.

Speaking at the training, INSEC chairperson Subodh Raj Pyakurel said that the UPR was a remarkable mechanism but accepted it was technical.

He stressed the need to discuss how to incorporate issues like state of impunity in Nepal and how to utilise reports of treaty bodies and Special Procedures in the report for the review.

Ai Kihara Hunt of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal facilitated the discussion and shed some light on UNHRPS and the UPR.