A discussion on the protection of human rights defenders was held on June 11 in the district headquarters of Dailekh. The program was organized by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) and included participation from civil society representatives and security officials, including Tomas Miller, Chief of Political Affairs at the EU Delegation to Nepal; Enbuska Petra, representative of the Embassy of Finland; Pratigya Simkhada Baskota, representative of the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal; as well as representatives from the National Human Rights Commission, Advocacy Forum, and COCAP.
During the discussion, civil society representatives highlighted that human rights defenders advocating for justice frequently face insecurity due to influential individuals misusing their authority to protect offenders. Tomas Miller emphasized that ensuring the safety of human rights defenders is a fundamental responsibility of the state.
Following the discussion with civil society, the team met with Badrinath Gaire, Chief District Officer of Dailekh, and Police Incharge Ganesh Bahadur Baral, urging them to guarantee the security of human rights defenders. CDO Gaire assured that the police administration remains consistently sensitive to the safety of those working to uphold justice.
The discussion also included the participation of Ramesh Kumar Thapa, Chief of the National Human Rights Commission, Karnali Province; Bijay Raj Gautam, Executive Director of INSEC, Madan Paudel, Chief of the Human Rights Documentation and Dissemination Program at INSEC, Narayan Subedi, INSEC Karnali Province Coordinator, Basanta Gautam from Advocacy Forum, and Pabitra Karki from COCAP.
Amar Sunar