Miscellaneous
HR violation cases by state drop, says Insec
The Informal Sector Service Centre has reported a significant decline in the number of human rights violations by the state, from 640 in 2013 to 309 in 2014.Insec’s Human Rights Yearbook 2015, released on Thursday, has documented 308 killings, seven of them committed by the state.
“There has been a significant decline in cases of rights violation by the state but social incidents are on the rise,” said Insec Chairman Subodh Pyakurel.
The rights organisation recorded 525 cases of rape in 2014, up from 406 the previous year. The number of cases related to sexual abuse shot up from 182 to 229 last year. Besides, “honour killings”, dowry violence and inhuman treatment on witchcraft charge are other crimes faced by women.
The report of Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance, however, shows a different picture.
The report to be released on Friday—Torture in the Terai—claims that the government has employed torture in the plains as a tool to extract bribe, and victimise persons from poor, vulnerable and marginalised communities.
“The rights situation in Madhes has worsened over the time. The state has treated Madhesi people ruthlessly,” said Dipendra Jha, chairperson of the Alliance. “We have found police excesses in many incidents in the region.”
The study of the Alliance has concluded that “the police used excessive force to suppress largely peaceful protests and has unduly interfered with the people’s right to peaceful assembly”. “I doubt the claim that there has been a decline in incidents of rights violation by the state,” Jha said.
Insec has claimed to have prepared the report after monitoring incidents of rights violation and abuses in 75 districts. The report also includes the Dho Tarap incident in Dolpa district last June. Forty-eight-year old Thun-dup Lama of Dho VDC-4 had died due to brutal beating by the police. The government had prepared a report on the incident but it was not made public.
The National Human Rights Commission had also pledged to probe the case. In the lack of office bearers, the NHRC never investigated into the matter.