Govt firm to protect human rights: PM

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 6: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is committed to protecting human rights and implementing fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution.

Inaugurating the 5th national conference of Human Rights Defenders and the 6th national general convention of the National Human Rights and Social Justice Forum Nepal (Human Rights Alliance) here on Wednesday, he highlighted that the current government is formed with the participation of two major political parties that have long fought for human rights. 

He assured that the government would prioritise preventing human rights violations and upholding the rule of law.

“With the change in the system, circumstances have also changed, but there are still those who make superficial claims about human rights. Some people speak without understanding the meaning and essence of the issue, while others deliberately speak just casually,” the Prime Minister said. 

“There have been antisocial activities where human rights defenders receive threats for speaking the truth,” he added.  

“This government will bring human rights violators under the purview of the law. We are clear that for Nepali people to be happy and prosperous, human rights must be genuinely upheld. Every citizen of Nepal, a naturally beautiful and fertile country, deserves a life that is easy, discrimination-free, fearless, and peaceful.”

Prime Minister Oli, who is also the chairman of CPN-UML, acknowledged that the current state of human rights in the country is a result of the sacrifices made by martyrs in various democratic movements. 

He also remembered the martyrs Ramnath Dahal, Netra Ghimire, Krishna Kuinkel, Biren Rajbanshi, and Narayan Shrestha, who were taken to Sukhani forest in Jhapa and executed under the pretext of being transferred to another prison on this very day in 2021 B.S. during the Panchayat regime. 

He asserted that those advocating for the revival of the monarchy, which once sentenced freedom fighters to death, would not be acceptable. 

He further stated that having personally endured severe imprisonment, he considers the protection of human rights as the government’s foremost responsibility. 

He also recalled that Nepal had initiated its human rights campaign at the beginning of World War II.

Prime Minister Oli stressed that mere written commitments to human rights do not provide food and shelter, underscoring the need to work towards ensuring underprivileged children and all ordinary citizens’ access to basic necessities. 

He clarified that Nepal would not adopt capital punishment but could enforce the harshest possible penalties based on the gravity of crimes.

During the event, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Tap Bahadur Magar, presented the first-ever KP Sharma Oli Human Rights and Freedom Award, worth Rs. 100,000, to senior journalist Bhairab Risal.