On 19 October 2019, THRD Alliance held a state-level consultation in Janakpur. More than 40 participants comprising lawyers, human rights activists, public prosecutors and representatives of Chief Attorney Office in Province 2 attended the consultation workshop.
The following were the objectives of the consultation meeting shared by Programme Coordinator Praveen Kumar Yadav.
– To review the development of legal provisions for the prevention of torture in Nepal.
– To explore the possible torture prevention mechanism at province level and discuss the legal framework for that.
– To discuss the current challenges to get redress for torture victims and advocacy for a separate comprehensive anti-torture legislation.
Senior Advocate Mandira Sharma facilitated a session on the past, present and future advocacy for the legislation on torture in Nepal. Following her talk, participants shared their comments and views.
Likewise, NHRC Janakpur Office’s Deputy Director Bir Bahadur Budhamagar shared the situation of torture monitoring in Province 2.
The most important part of the consultation was to explore the possible torture prevention mechanism at province level and discuss the legal framework for that. In this connection, Chief Attorney Dipendra Jha shared the mandate of Chief Attorney Office (CAO) and possible contribution that the office could do in order to prevent torture in Province 2.
During the consultation, Executive Director Mohan Kumar Karn presented the draft regulation of the CAO. The participants, thereafter, provided their feedback and comments on the draft regulation.
