Kathmandu, Nepal, March 2, 2021: International right bodies- Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and Amnesty International (AI) have on Monday urged the Nepal government to immediately withdraw an ordinance that undermines the independence of constitutional and human rights bodies and rescind recent appointments that were made without consultation or parliamentary approval.
Issuing a joint communiqué these three right bodies have stated that the action of the government undermines public trust and confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and other constitutional bodies including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The illegitimate appointments process is not simply an abstract irregularity but will lead to ineffective and weak implementation of critical mandates to protect human rights and other rule of law objectives, states the release.
‘The government’s actions are a severe dent in Nepal’s long struggle for a rule of law-based constitution, which was finally adopted in 2015 to guarantee human rights, Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch has stated adding ‘it is sad to see some of the same politicians who drafted the Constitution playing fast and loose with the charter just a few years later.’
‘This move by the government further weakens the effectiveness of constitutional bodies that are supposed to be beacons of hope for victims of human rights violations and abuses,’ Mandira Sharma, senior international legal adviser at ICJ, said ‘Independence, impartiality, and legitimacy are preconditions for these bodies to effectively and efficiently deliver their mandates.’
There are doubts over the independence and integrity of the NHRC and other commissions will endanger the protection of human rights in Nepal, Dinushika Dissanayake, Deputy South Asia Director of Amnesty International, said ‘The government must immediately reverse these appointments and start a new process in consultation with the civil society and rights holders in Nepal.’
The President Bidya Bhandari had on December 15, 2020, endorsed an executive ordinance to amend the law governing the Constitutional Council, which makes appointments to the several constitutional bodies. Though the Constitutional Council Act has clearly made a provision that five out of six members of the council must be present while making decision to recommend to the constitutional bodies, the ordinance has provisioned of simple majority to take the decision.
Rightly after issuance of the order at the same day, a meeting of the Constitutional Council held at the attendance of three members had recommended 38 names to fulfill the vacant positions on constitutional bodies including the NHRC.
As per the constitutional provision, the names of the appointees should be endorsed from the parliament. However, it was not happened because the parliament was dissolved on December 20. The nominees were sworn in on February 3, 2021, despite legal challenges in the Supreme Court to the constitutionality of the nominations and the dissolution of parliament.
As the Supreme Court (SC) has on February 23 reinstated the dissolved parliament, serious questions are raised over the appointments made sans parliamentary hearing. Different right bodies and activists have also raised questions over the appointments in the constitutional bodies.
