Police Accused of Using Excessive Force
According to Chapter 3, section 9 (2) of Nepal’s Act relating to the rights of persons with disabilities, “The persons with disabilities shall have the right to obtain assistive materials and community assistance to earn the living respectfully”.
That is wonderful, but unfortunately it has not yet been implemented. That’s why there have been protests for 20 days. Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, the father of a 15-year-old boy with deafblindness and Chairman of the Society of Deafblind Parents Nepal, is also involved. He and his family are dependent on the implementation of the legal right to assistance – for example, just so that the boy can transfer to school independently and his parents can go to work. The implementation has already been postponed once and is now once again not mentioned in the latest government programme.
This is what triggered the protests in the first place. Unfortunately, they have been overshadowed by multiple reports of excessive use of force by the police on 15 May. Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned this. Among the protesters, 20 were arrested and 7 had to be hospitalised. Lhakpa also suffered wounds on his arms and hands.
DbI has always stood up for human rights and is therefore very concerned about the current situation. We hope that today’s big rally with participants from all over Nepal can take place peacefully. And that the commission just set up by the government, including 5 organisations of people with disabilities, will find a good solution.