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Prime Minister KP Oli’s spat last week with senior functionaries of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sent alarm bells ringing about the interference by the executive into an independent body responsible for upholding post-conflict transitional justice.

“It was embarrassing. He delivered a lecture for more than one hour on human rights,” said Mohna Ansari, the NHRC member whose recent presentation in Geneva critical of provisions in the constitution seems to have irked Oli.

The Prime Minister summoned Ansari and NHRC head Anup Raj Sharma to discuss three issues: the human rights situation in Nepal, reconstruction after earthquake including the NHRC building, and the Geneva speech. Sharma, Ansari and three members and a secretary attended the meeting with the Prime Minister and eight members of his office on 3 April.

“Prime Minister tore apart the NHRC’s statement in Geneva line by line,” Ansari told Nepali Times.

The one-page statement presented by Ansari at the 31st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva summarised the commission’s concerns on basic human rights situation after the earthquake, women’s rights to transfer their nationality to their children, excessive use of force in Tarai, and the current state of impunity in Nepal.

“His first remark was ‘Look, this is an NGO statement, not a NHRC statement’ and his last was ‘Don’t issue the statement, just call us’. We couldn’t believe anybody would comment on the NHRC like that,” said Ansari.

The NHRC is an independent state body to monitor and safeguard the human rights of the citizens according to Nepal government’s commitment to the various international treaties on human rights. The commission is responsible to undertake field research of human rights and evaluate the existing human rights situation of the country.

Seulki Lee