Kathmandu, Nov 15 - A global human rights watchdog on Monday termed the recent enforcement of the Code of Conduct to regulate activities of national and international NGOs in Nepal as a “legal veneer for repressing the civil society”.
In a statement, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Code of Conduct, promulgated through an ordinance on Thursday, is a “dangerous tool in the hands of a government openly hostile to the idea of human rights."
“The government hopes to use this legal veneer to muffle the voices of those who have the courage to stand up to it,” the statement quoted Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia Director as saying. “The Code will make it legally dangerous for civil society organizations and individuals to take part in legitimate and peaceful activities.”
In recent months, the civil society movement against the government has gained significant momentum.
HRW also expressed concern that many provisions, such as the term “social harmony”, are vague and subject to arbitrary interpretations. “In a country where journalists, lawyers and opposition party members are arbitrarily detained on a regular basis, this Code is a recipe for abuse,” said Adams.
Ostensibly, the Code of Conduct regulates the activities of NGOs, HRW said, adding, “But in reality, it appears to be aimed at silencing critics of King Gyanendra and his government, which came to power after the king's coup on February 1.”
The rights body said it is particularly concerned that the new law, enforced amidst fierce opposition at home and abroad, will be used to curtail the work of human rights workers and organizations that have been documenting abuses “in spite of sustained attacks against them since the February coup”.
Many international rights bodies, the United Nations and regional blocs have condemned the government move of enforcing the Code of Conduct. NGO Federation Nepal, an umbrella body of Nepal’s NGOs, has already announced various kinds of protest programs and has said it will firmly defy the rules mentioned in the Code.
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