Nepal: the rule of law abandoned

Mar 1, 2005

Nepal is in the midst of a dire human rights and rule of law crisis that requires urgent action by the authorities in Nepal and the international community.

By assuming direct power on 1 February 2005, suspending almost all rights in a new state of emergency and removing most of the last democratic checks and balances on the Army, King Gyanendra has effectively decreed an end to the rule of law in Nepal. The King’s far-reaching action has added a new layer
of human rights violations to the existing patterns of gross and systematic violations suffered by the Nepali people at the hands of both the government security forces and the Maoist insurgents.

Nepal-rule of law abandoned-analysis brief-2005-eng (full text in English, PDF)