Archive ref no: NCA-18782
Date: 2003-04-21
National Human Rights Commission - CPN (Maoist) Negotiation Team Meeting
A meeting was held today at the National Human Rights Commission between the representatives of the negotiating team of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) and members of the Commission on the situation of human rights in the present context of ceasefire.
During the meeting, the National Human Rights Commission suggested that all human rights issues should be integrated in the peace process and that the CPN (Maoist), as a responsible political party should express its commitment to human rights principles. The leader of the negotiating team of CPN (Maoist) Dr. Baburam Bhattarai stated that the CPN (Maoist) was fully committed to the Human Rights Principles adopted by the United Nations and also agreed to cooperate with the National Human Rights Commission in the protection of human rights in the country.
The National Human Rights Commission drew the attention of the representatives of the CPN (Maoist) negotiating team towards the agreement between the Government and the CPN (Maoist), which included several points regarding human rights issues but was lacking in implementation mechanisms. Dr. Bhattarai concurred with the Commission on the matter and requested the Commission for its assistance in preparing a framework of an agreement on human rights.
The Commission also emphasized the important role of the Government and the Maoists in dealing with issues related to disappearances; publication of the names of people killed in the conflict; reparation and assistance for the victims of torture, and the rehabilitation of the displaced people as well as children affected by the conflict. In this regard, Dr. Bhattarai expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Commission in these matters and further requested the assistance of the Commission to develop a comprehensive mechanism to deal with all human rights issues.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Commission Nayan Bahadur Khatri, Commissioner Dr. Gauri Shankar Lal Das, Commissioner Sushil Pyakurel and Acting Secretary of the Commission Mr. Kedar Poudyal. Similarly, the representatives of the negotiating team of CPN (Maoist) in the meeting included Chief Negotiator Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Mr. Ram Bahadur Thapa and Mr. Krishna Bahadur Mahara