A High-level Probe Commission on Terai-Madhesh unrest led by former justice of the apex court Girish Chandra Lal has submitted its 709-page report to the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on December 16th. The commission was formed to probe the 66 killings[1] during the Madhesh movement and role of police in the atrocities committed during the Madhesh movement of 2015.
The protest and violence flared up due to the disagreement of many indigenous and minority groups in Nepal’s southern belt, known as the Terai-Madhesh, over the new constitution. They felt that the constitution did not answer their longstanding calls for equal rights, provincial delineations, and devolution of power[2].
Human Rights Watch, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Asian Human Rights Commission, UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, and Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD) found credible evidence of serious human rights violations by government security forces during the protest.
The commission visited 18 districts where they met thousands of people for the probe and took around 15 months to come up with the final report. The final report addresses a total of 3,264 complaints registered at the probe commission[3].
MADHUR expresses deep concerns that the government may take no action over the report recommendations. It may be tried to cover up as the report has raised serious questions on role of state institutions in flaring the violence.
MADHUR urges Nepal government, a new member of the UN Human Rights Council, to show commitment to Human Rights and justice to all of its citizens without impartiality.
MADHUR
[1] https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/girish-chandra-lal-led-probe-commission-submits-report/
[2] https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/21/nepal-publish-commission-report-terai-violence
[3] http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-12-16/lal-commission-submits-report.html
