Nepal’s Constitution can’t address people’s problems: Human Right Watch

kathmandu January 27- Human Rights Watch, a New York-based international human rights organisation, commented in its annual world report that the new Constitution of Nepal cannot full address problems of people.

In a press release issued from the HRW headquarters today, the organisation said it “instead creates further burdens for children born to a Nepali mother and foreign father.”

“Nepal has had years to discuss and prepare a constitution which would address the expectations of all its communities, including its sizable stateless population,” said Brad Adams, HRW Asia Director said in the strongly-worded release.

“Instead, the main political parties simply used the distraction of the humanitarian crisis to pass a constitution which has ended up deeply hurting many of its citizens and deepened the humanitarian crisis.”

The INGO also accused the government of responding to protests over the Constitution in Tarai districts by deploying army and imposing curfew.

“Most of the protester deaths were attributed to excessive use of force by the security forces,” it added.

Besides comments on Nepal’s Constitution, Adams further charged that political leaders could not provide relief to people hit by the devastating earthquakes though the nation had received more than USD 4 billion assistance from the international community.

“It is unacceptable that the political leadership has left citizens without critical assistance and instead squabbled over petty politics,” he said.

“Human Rights Watch noted that the country has yet to take steps towards accountability for crimes committed by all sides during the country’s 10-year civil war, which ended in 2006,” the organisation suggested. Source: THT