NEPAL: A civil servant’s whereabouts remain unknown two months on

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw your attention to the disappearance of a civil servant since 5 November 2010 from Rajpur, Dipayal, Doti District. Two months on, the police have not been able to locate the missing person and it is important that the state continues the search to protect his right to life and the rights of his family to know of his whereabouts. 

CASE DETAILS: 

According to the information we have received from the victim’s family, Nawaraj Chaulagain, director of the far-western regional office of Public Service Commission, has been missing since 5 November 2010. On that day, he was working in his office located in Rajpur, Dipayal, Doti District, with three other staff, preparing the publication of the results of fourth-class officer examination (Nayab Subba). He went missing at around 6.30-6.45 in the evening, while he was taking a short break outside.

On the same day, the family informed the District Police Office, Dipayal, of the disappearance and the police immediately started the search. On 6 November, the family filed a case at the Dipayal Regional Police Office. However, two months later the police investigation has not been able to yield any results and the whereabouts of Nawaraj remains unknown. Although they are informed that the police have been active in the search for the missing, the family is not kept informed about the steps taken so far by the authorities to determine his whereabouts and the police reports have not yet been made public.

On 9 November, the missing person’s family appealed to the media, the political parties, the National Human Rights Commission and civil society organizations requesting their help in the investigation. They have also submitted an appeal to the ministries to expedite the search for the victim.

On 15 November, the National Human Rights Commission expressed its serious concern in the case and wrote to the Nepal government to demand that the status of the investigation be made public. Similarly, several right groups have further appealed to the government to show more diligence in the search for Nawaraj, including the Public Service Commission on 6 January 2011.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The civil servants in Nepal have been the targets of a wave of violence, threats and abductions and the inability of the State to guarantee their protection has increased their sense of vulnerability and their feeling of insecurity. Even though the investigation has not established that Chaulagain’s disappearance was due to criminal elements, the responsibility now lies with the State to take strong measures to guarantee the security and the safety of its citizens and create an environment free of fear for its civil servants to exercise their duties and serve the citizens of Nepal. Nepal has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the State therefore has the responsibility to protect the right to life, safety and security of all its citizens. In this case, this responsibility requires that the State should mobilize all the relevant agencies to conduct a thorough and coordinated investigation in order to protect the right to life of the abducted person and the right to the truth of his family. The family must be regularly kept informed of the efforts deployed to find their kin.

SUGGESTED ACTION: 
Please join us in writing to the authorities listed below to express your concern in Nawaraj Chaulagain’s disappearance case and ask for the mobilization of all the relevant state agencies to find him. The family of the missing person should be informed about the latest updates of the investigations regarding the case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER