Martin raps govt decision to regulate NGO

Kathmandu, Oct 6 - Chief of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, Ian Martin Wednesday said that the government decision to regulate the NGOs will be sheer breach of international human rights.
In a letter sent to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare yesterday, Martin said, "The government proposal of code of conduct for NGOs will be a breach of Nepal's international human rights obligations."
Codes of conduct are usually defined by the civil society and subject to voluntary commitment of the NGOs and don't have a legally binding character, said Martin.
"In contrast, the code of conduct proposed by the government would have legally binding effects on NGOs," he said.
Martin further mentioned that the provisions made to restrain membership, objectives, programming, functioning and access to funding and affiliation with national and international organizations active in Nepal will be construed incompatible with standards of international human rights.