Nepalese police fights torture supported by Danish police

The Danish Institute for Human Rights, in partnership with Kathmandu School of Law and with the support of Danish police, has just launched the 4-year project “Enhancing Good Governance, Human Rights Protection and Law Enforcement Situation in Security Agencies and Criminal Justice Actors in Nepal”.

The project aims to determine how occurrences of improper use of forcewithin the Nepalese security forces can be eradicated. Also, police forces are to receive further training on how to fulfil their obligation to protectthe basic human rights of suspects during apprehensions and during investigations.

Professor Yubaraj Sangroula, head of Kathmandu School of Law, explains the rationale of the project:

”The project is developed in line with the Government of Nepal’s obligations to the international human rights instruments it has ratified. The project is supporting the efforts of the government to comply with the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and Convention Against Torture, and the issues raised during the 2014 review in the Human Rights Committee as well as its implementation of recommendations provided by the Human Rights Council as part of the Universal Periodic Review process in 2011.”

Historic cooperation
The Danish police contribute to the project by supporting their Nepali colleagues in preventing torture within policing. They do so by sharing their knowledge on technical investigation methods and tools. Danish police is represented by chief superintendent Kell Svenningsen and superintendent Erik Nielsen, who will travel to Nepal for extensive periods of time during the coming four years.

Kell Svenningsen and Erik Nielsen have vast international policing experience from UN projects in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and the former Yugoslavia.

“In my experience, the key to success in projects of this magnitude lies in a strong local ownership and a wish for change. We tell our local colleagues that they are the experts on the challenges, which makes them the best equipped to find solutions. We have the upmost respect for Nepal, her culture and the heart-warming hospitality we have already experienced,” Kell Svenningsen says.

The project is financed by the Danish embassy in Nepal.

“We are excited about the fact that we, through this project, for the first time will be able to establish a collaboration between the Danish and the Nepalese police. And equally important, that Nepalese police staff from both central and local levels will be involved. The ownership and the involvement of the Nepalese police will be the key to the success of the project,” saysDeputy Head of Mission, Jan Møller Hansen.

At the launch of the project, the Honorable Mr. Bam Dev Gautam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, spoke about the government’s devotion to protecting its people’s human rights.

”Human rights protection is at the utmost importance in the country and has always been in the first priority. The struggle for the promotion and protection of human rights inevitably requires the elimination of aberrations that, over the time, have wounded and fractured our society. The Ministry has been making efforts to minimize such aberrations and create an environment in which rights can be realized by the voiceless and under-privileged particularly. When Kathmandu School of Law presented this project to the Ministry, we were really encouraged with the overall project objectives and its mission of bringing reform within state's security organizations. Personally also, I do hope this project can further enhance the capacity of state officials towards promotion and protection of human rights in Nepal.”