OHCHR blows whistle on promotion of General accused of gross human rights abuse

OHCHR-Nepal Representative Richard Bennett met with Defence Minister Bidhya Bhandari on Monday and expressed concern about the recommended promotion of Major General Toran Jung Bahadur Singh to Lieutenant General.

"The OHCHR acknowledges and appreciates the important contribution made by the Nepal Army on various UN peace keeping missions which obligate peace keepers to maintain highest standard of human rights compliance," the UN rights body said in a statement released after the meeting.

On 26 May 2006, OHCHR released a report of its investigation into arbitrary detention, torture and disappearance at Bhairabnath Battalion, Maharajgunj.

Singh was the commander of the 10th Brigade that oversaw matters with Bhairabnath in 2003-2004 during which period those human rights violations occurred.

In its the conclusion the report stated that "the commander also knew or ought to have known about these actions by the battalions under the command of the 10th Brigade".

The report had recommended that officials involved in the case "should be suspended from any official duties pending the investigation, and should not be proposed for participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions."

"Given these serious and credible allegations, the Government should investigate General Singh's involvement before taking a decision on his promotion" said Bennett. nepalnews.com