ICJ calls for immediate lifting of ban on public gatherings

Kathmandu April 6-The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Wednesday called for the immediate lifting of the blanket ban on public gatherings in Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts.

“The ban on public gatherings and today's mass arrests are all attempts by the government to silence peaceful and legitimate protest, which is needed now more than ever in Nepal,” a press release issued by the ICJ quoted, Nicholas Howen, ICJ Secretary-General as saying.

He added, “If peaceful political debate is prohibited, there will never be an end to Nepal's 10-year civil war.”

“While Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) allows for justifiable restrictions to be placed on the right to freedom of assembly, it is the ICJ’s opinion that the grounds for the current blanket ban on public gatherings is neither proportionate or justifiable under Nepal’s international human rights obligations,” ICJ statement said.

Citing security reasons, the district administrations of Kathmandu and Lalitpur on Tuesday clamped propitiatory orders within the Ring Road.

The ICJ also called for immediate release of lawyers who were arrested from peaceful protest rallies