News

AF expresses solidarity with Gangamaya, ensure justice to the victims

AF expresses solidarity with Gangamaya, ensure justice to the victims

7 June 2021, Kathmandu: Since the day 17-year old Krishna Prasad Adhikari was brutally murdered by Maoist cadres on (24 Jestha 2061) 6 June 2004 in Bakulahar Chowk of Tandi, Chitwan, Ganga Maya Adhikari has been continuously fighting for truth and justice. Ganga Maya along with her husband Nanda Prasad Adhikari started a hunger strike as a part of Satyagraha on 5 February 2012, demanding no amnesty to those who were involved in the murder of their son. The Government turned blind eye to their demands of justice and on 22 September 2014, Nanda Prasad Adhikari passed away, leaving Gangamaya all alone in her journey to justice. Gangamaya’s resilience to seek justice has not shaken yet.

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Demonstration of health workers continues at Bheri Hospital

1 June 2021, Nepalgunj: Demanding immediate enactment of necessary laws for security so as to boost the morale of health workers, the health workers, including doctors and nurses of Bheri Hospital, Nepalgunj, have continued to protest against the attack every day from 9 to 10 am near the eastern main gate of Bheri Hospital. They gathered there with black bands on their hands and carrying play cards demanding security and justice.

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Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF) Organized a Psychological Counseling Session (via zoom) for Conflict Victims on the Occasion of International Week of the Disappeared, 2021

Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF) Organized a Psychological Counseling Session (via zoom) for Conflict Victims on the Occasion of International Week of the Disappeared, 2021

28 May 2021, Kathmandu: Recently, the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases is pushing already traumatized armed conflict victims into an extremely vulnerable situation, both mentally and physically. Although conflict victims are determined in their persistent fight for truth and justice, they face multi-layer of hardships. The extended prohibitory orders combined with lack of support from the government have brought a serious psychological impact on the overall well-being of the conflict victims. With an aim to ease their pain and sufferings, Advocacy Forum-Nepal convened a counseling session entitled “COVID-19 and its Psychological Impact on Conflict Victims” on 28 May 2021. The session was facilitated by a senior psychologist, Karuna Kunwar. Mr. Bikash Basnet (Program Manager-AF) hosted the event.

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Janakpur High Court Orders Provincial Hospital to Stop Referring COVID-Patients to Private Hospitals

28 May 2021, Janakpur: On 28 May 2021, a single bench of Justice Dal Kumar Khadka of the High Court, Janakpur issued an order to take due care and not to delay in the treatment of the COVID-19 infected patients. The Court ordered the Provincial Hospital to stop refusing patients from admitting and providing treatment citing false pretext of lack of oxygen, PPE, masks and medicines and referring them to the private hospitals. The Court also asked the hospital to submit it the reports of beds details, doctors, health worker allotted for the treatment of COVID-19 infected patients along with the daily list of patients admitted and discharged after recovery every week.

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Case Updates

Emblematic Cases

Among the hundreds of cases documented, Advocacy Forum has selected altogether 15 representative cases that show an endemic pattern of obstruction of justice, brazen abuse or total disregard of the law and deliberate attempts to escape accountability. The cases are also selected on the basis of their availability of evidence and wider public appeal. AF launches campaigns with other national and international organizations to establish accountability in those cases with a view to opening the door of justice to thousands of other similar cases.
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First Information Reports

First Information Report (FIR) is a formal complaint lodged with the police or District Administration Office by the victim of a cognizable offence or by someone on his/her behalf.  As per the existing legal system in Nepal, victims or their representatives do not have direct access to the courts. In criminal cases, police have exclusive jurisdiction to investigate and process evidence to the public prosecutors who then register the cases in court. However, the police authorities not only dillydally to register FIRs but also fail to carry out effective investigations. AF has been helping victims and their families to file FIRs and seeking mandamus orders for the effective investigations on the cases.
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Human Rights Committee Submissions

Advocacy Forum is the first organization in Nepal to use individual complaint mechanism under the First Optional Protocol of International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). According to the said protocol, individuals, whose countries are party to the ICCPR and the protocol, who claim their rights guaranteed by the ICCPR have been breached, and who have exhausted existing domestic legal remedies in the pursuit of justice, can submit written communications to the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC). This particular effort of AF has opened the space of Nepali lawyers to international litigation.
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Torture Compensation Cases

Advocacy Forum legally intervenes on behalf of detainees who claimed to have been tortured by police and forest officers in government detention facilities. Upon consent by victims, AF attorneys register suits, and represent victims in court seeking for torture compensation under the Torture Compensation Act -1996 and necessary action against the perpetrators.
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Initiatives

Case Communication

Advocacy Forum reports urgent cases of human rights violations to UN-OHCHR, AHRC and to some specific organizations such as Amnesty International, Asian Human Rights Commission, OMCT, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, diplomatic communities, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Execution and the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. These international organizations/bodies give due importance to our communications and have been regularly issuing urgent appeals to pressure the concerned authorities and the government. AF also regularly reports cases to Human Rights Cell of Nepal Police, Office of Attorney General and National Human Rights Commission requesting investigation and necessary action against the perpetrators and timely redress to victims.

Setting the Precedents

Important judicial rulings by courts in the cases represented by AF on behalf of victims have been instrumental in establishing case law in Nepal. The efforts of AF have been immensely important in setting standards vis-à-vis the cases of human rights violations and ensuring fair trial standards in Nepal and thereby creating a solid body of jurisprudence.  AF also files Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking various directive orders for the implementation of existing legal provisions and challenging those provisions that expressly contradict with the accepted international standards.






Capacity Building Measures

AF has developed a comprehensive framework to strengthen capacities of its staffers, stakeholders, institutions, communities and target groups for the effective realization of its vision, mission and goals. The framework is set at the systemic, institutional and individual levels.  Key areas that require capacity building are identified as per the needs of relevant stakeholders or when AF feels necessary during the implementation of its various activities. AF is also committed to increasing its functionality by supplementing the expertise of staff wherever possible, both by educational workshops and by exposure to the international human rights community.

Advocacy and Lobbying

Advocacy Forum works to influence the Nepali government's policies and laws by holding regular lobby meetings with lawmakers, officials from ministries concerned, members of the civil society and other relevant stakeholders. Via various activities, campaigns and submissions, it also tries to lobby both national and international bodies to ensure human rights are upheld. It has also been continuously seeking to establish strong lines of communication and effective working partnerships with the international and domestic human rights community. AF recognizes the necessity of international co-operation in overturning the culture of impunity that sustains a climate conducive to human rights abuse in Nepal.