Aryal 'Shocked' at Deletion of Clause in Interim Statute

Supreme Court (SC) justice and chairman of the interim constitution drafting committee, Laxman Prasad Aryal, on Friday expressed "shock" at the "disappearance" of a clause on ending impunity in the final interim constitution."While drafting the interim constitution we had included a clause on ending impuntiy. We had thought that impunity would now come to an end. But the exclusion of the clause in the final draft came as a surprise," Aryal told a workshop jointly organised by the International Court of Jurist (ICJ) and the Capacity Development of National Human Rights Commission (CDNHRC).

The workshop was aimed at increasing awareness among human rights defenders on the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to lobby for its ratification by the Nepal government.Aryal suggested the government immediately ratify the Rome Statue and put an end to impunity.

Saying that disappearances have been a glaring example of human rights violation in the country, Aryal said, "The government has not been serious on ending impunity by bringing the human rights violators to book."UNDP Resident Representative to Nepal, Matthew Kahane, said every individual's fundamental human rights have to be respected. He also lauded the NHRC's efforts in trying to put an end to impunity.