Four United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs David Kaye, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Michel Forst and Ahmed Shaheed on July 11 questioned several provisions of the National Integrity Policy (NIP) that the Government is preparing to introduce, reports Kathmandu Post. They have questioned several provisions of the policy, putting them into three major categories: definition and reporting requirements; restriction of scope of activities; and access to funding. The six-page document forwarded to Nepal’s permanent mission in Geneva states that if the policy is adopted in its current form, it may have negative impacts on the activities of organizations and civil society in general as it would severely impinge on the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association guaranteed under international human rights laws.
Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in a statement released on July 25 said the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons and Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act amendment billdoesn’t fully adhere to global practices, reports Kathmandu Post. “Establishing separate units with dedicated responsibility in the areas of truth-seeking, inquiry, reparations, investigations of gross violations of human rights, preparation of the final report, and others as required would useful tool to strengthen the capacity of the commissions to deliver results in the different areas of the mandate,” the statement said.