The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) concluded that protests over the new Constitution, before and after its promulgation, have created ‘sufficient’ barriers to people’s basic human rights. The constitutional human rights watchdog today made its report public after monitoring protest programmes in 28 districts of the nation, including those of Tarai-Madhes. The Commission concluded that both state mechanisms including police forces and protesting parties were responsible for human rights violation. While police personnel used excessive forces to disperse protesting crowds, the agitators also used home-made lethal weapons in retaliation, according to the Commission.

NHRC spokesperson Mohna Ansari said as many as 49 persons were killed in the protests while at least 729 people were injured. Right to free mobility and right to do business among other rights have been violated due to protracted and repeated curfew orders, declaration of riot-hit zones as well as uninformed and indefinite bandhs and obstructions, the Commission observed. The constitutional body further said that some media houses and journalists were attacked during the protests from both security personnel and agitating parties. Human rights monitors, deployed from the NHRC, themselves were attacked in some districts, it added. Security threats have increased at areas near the Indo-Nepal border points as cadres of Madhes-centric parties staged protests in no man’s land as well as bordering areas of India, against international norms and values, according to the Commission.

The protesters also failed to notice adverse effects their programmes would produce on the relation between two countries, it added. The Commission has made 19 points of recommendations to the government, protesting parties and other stakeholders to avoid violation of human rights during such protests.