National Human Rights Commission Concludes Children Used as Human Shields During Genji Protests

Kathmandu. The National Human Rights Commission has concluded that children were used as human shields during the Genji protests held on Bhadra 23 and 24. Speaking at a program organized at the party central office of the Nepali Congress, the coordinator of the 'Bhadra 23 and 24 Protest Investigation Committee' formed by the commission, commission member Dr. Lily Thapa, stated this. Thapa said that the activities during the protests were serious from a human rights perspective.

Refuting the questions raised about the Prime Minister and the Nepali Army being given immunity in the report, Dr. Thapa clarified that recommendations were made solely based on facts and evidence. According to her, the recommendation made to the Nepali Army is to warn the commanders found responsible for the incident and to instruct them not to repeat such actions in the future.

Clarifying the issue of the Prime Minister's name not being included, she stated that they were not afraid of anyone and prepared the report solely based on in-depth analysis and from a human rights perspective. She said that recommendations were made against the guilty based on the pain of the victim families and the deaths of the youth.

During the investigation, the commission studied 437 video clips. External experts were also consulted to determine whether these videos were real or artificial. During the testing, approximately 35 videos were confirmed to be real, and evidence was found of high-ranking individuals and activists inciting violent activities in them.

According to the commission, these videos showed instructions to put children in front to create a 'human shield', teach them to make bombs, and incite them to attack security personnel. The commission has determined that 54 individuals who played an inciting role in the protests have been identified and require further investigation.

She also stated that although some of them claimed not to be involved, their roles appeared suspicious based on the evidence, and it has been suggested to take them for a review process.

As Nepal has ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the commission has interpreted the use of children in protests as a serious violation of human rights. The commission has directed the government to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future and to bring the guilty to justice.