No bureaucratic control of NHRC

We demand that the government withdraw the current amended version of the ordinance of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), made public on December 8, 2025. The reason is most obvious. The earlier version, published as a gazette on November 9, was the result of wide-ranging stakeholders' discussions that included ones held in several districts with UNDP's assistance. In fact, not too many ordinances were produced with such public participation.

Without any discussion with the original participants, an amended version of the gazette was published that included two vital changes, one dealing with the setting up of a body to look into cases of torture, which we welcome, and the second, the inclusion of the cabinet secretary as a member of the committee that will select the new NHRC, which we strongly oppose. Through this inclusion, the very beginning of setting up the NHRC is weakened. Bureaucratic control of this vital body—intended to strengthen the fundamental rights of individuals—prevented it from delivering meaningful improvements to the overall human rights situation. Past NHRCs repeatedly failed to act when intervention was most needed, largely because bureaucrats seldom, if ever, permitted decisive action, especially in cases involving government institutions and officials. In fact, the NHRC's operational culture has been dominated by behind-the-scenes string-pulling bureaucracy.

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Custodial torture remains business as usual

It is an undeniable fact that most human rights violations occur because of government actions, especially when it tries to suppress dissent. The pattern is very simple. Since the government suppresses the opposition and victimises its leaders and activists through bureaucratic institutions, including the police, the intelligence agencies and government functionaries, the administration is never comfortable about the investigation of these rights violations. We consider the inclusion of the cabinet secretary in the selection committee of the NHRC to be a direct threat to its independent functioning. The Cabinet Division is the epicentre of bureaucracy and the main executive office of the council of ministers. As its head, the cabinet secretary has the power to greatly influence the functioning of any institution, especially those set up to hold the government—especially bureaucracy—accountable.

One of the main complaints against the past regime was its severe violations of human rights. The instances of forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the phenomenon of "Aynaghar" would never have occurred, or at least their functioning could have been stopped if the NHRC performed its duties. We in the media repeatedly brought out these facts, wrote editorials urging the NHRC to act, yet the commissioners never did. The area where the interim government has a chance to make a true difference from the past is to guarantee the independence of the NHRC, for which bureaucratic control or interference must totally stop.

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The NHRC ordinance saga: One step forward, two steps back