His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir
Bikram Shah 
Royal Palace Narayanhiti
Royal Palace Exchange
Kathmandu
Nepal

20 April, 2006

Your Majesty,

Re: Wounding and arrest of Nepalese lawyers

We are the Co-Chairs of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association.  We are writing to you about the recent wounding and/or arrest of 89 lawyers.  The International Bar Association (IBA) has 30,000 lawyer members and over 195 organisational members (Bar Associations and Law Societies).  It is especially involved with matters relating to the rule of law, human rights and the ability of judges and lawyers to practise their profession freely.

We note with dismay and concern the dismissal of the government and the assumption of absolute royal power in 2005, and the absence of any steps to reinstate democratic processes and the rule of law since that time.

We are particularly alarmed at the fact that 89 lawyers were wounded and/or arrested at a demonstration on April 13.  Such a large number of casualties raises the reasonable inference of excessive force being used by the Royal Nepalese Army.  Indeed, eye witness accounts say that the President of the Nepal Bar Association, Mr Shambhu Thapa, was severely beaten.  This is contrary to Nepal’s international human rights obligations.

We note also the reports of extra-judicial killings, illegal detention and disappearances that continue to be instigated by the Royal Nepalese Army, as well as the extortion, murder, forced displacement of civilians, and abductions, which continue to be perpetrated by the Maoists.  We draw to your attention the 2002 IBA Report “Nepal in Crisis: Justice Caught in the Crossfire”.  In that Report we make 22 recommendations, including that the Royal Nepalese Army stop harassing the legal profession and that the Maoists desist from the intimidation of lawyers as well.  We also recommended that the Royal Nepalese Army be trained in human rights and that the government examine and implement its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and under the Torture Convention.

We call upon you to ensure that this happens as a matter of utmost urgency, and we would appreciate a prompt response to this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Ambassador Emilio Càrdenas

Justice Richard J. Goldstone                        

Co-Chairs, IBA's Human Rights Institute