By Kun Choedak
Kathmandu – Two Tibetan field human rights monitors (ICT) and (TCHRD) participated in 1st Human Rights Defenders Forum in South Asia (HRDF-SA) 2006 held at Dhulikhel, Nepal from 6 to 8 June 2006.
More than 50 participants of the first Human Rights Defenders’ Forum in South Asia (HRDF-SA), gathered to critically reflect on the role of human rights defenders and people’s movement under the theme ” Promotion Asian Solidarity for Peace and Democracy: Strengthening the Role of Human Rights Defenders in South Asia”.
It was jointly organized by the FORUM ASIA and INSEC in Nepal to share participant’s experiences of struggle to strengthen their solidarity with the victims.
On the final day of the forum, a two point declaration was unanimously adopted on the issue of Tibet and Tibetans living in Nepal. The declaration says that the non violent struggle of Tibetan people to be able to exercise their basic rights- civil, cultural, economic, political and social -in particular their rights to freedom of religion in Tibet should be acknowledged until such time we call our South Asian governments to offer protection to Tibetan refugees. Human Rights violations are not symptoms of conflicts. On the contrary, human rights violations are causes of conflicts. In this regard, prevention of human rights violations is vital for transforming conflicts and building peace, which in return contribute to the advancement for human rights. HRDs have an important role to play, as they are watchdogs of conflicts transformation and facilitators of peace building in the current context in Nepal. HRDs should address the urgent needs of HR victims during conflicts such as refugees, in particular Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees living in Nepal and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the transitional process.
Ms. Melinda Ching Simon, Human Rights Officer and assistance to the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Geneva, attended the forum. Other speakers were Mr.Sushil Pyakural, former National Human Rights Commissioner of Nepal, Mr. Tapan Bose, General Secretary, SAFHR, Ms. Susan Appleyard, ICJ, Geneva, Mr. Suhas Chakma, ACHR, India, Mr. Sabur, Asian Resource Foundation, Thailand, Mr. David Johnson, Senior Human Rights Advisor to the office of the High Commissioner For Human Rights in Nepal, Mr. J.N . Khanal, former minister and the chief of foreign department, Communist Party of Nepal -Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), Ms. Renu Rajvhandari, Chairperson, WOREC, Mr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, INHURED INTERNATIONAL
