LAST OF FIVE NEPALIS OUT OF LONDON OLYMPICS Kathmandu, 5 Aug: Tilak Ram Tharu, the last Nepali in the five-member Nepali squad of the London Olympics, crashed out of the Games Saturday. Tharu better his personal record in the 100m dash and couldn’t set a new national record. The 19-year old sprinter clocked 10.85 seconds to better a personal record by 0.15 seconds. Nnnn 29 INVITED TO JOIN CAMP FOR NEHRU CUP Kathmandu, 5 Aug.: ANFA Saturday invited 29 players to join a camp for the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament in New Delhi from 22 August 22 to 2 September. Players List Goalkeepers: Kiran Chemjong, Bikash Malla, Bikesh Kutu, Ritesh Thapa, Dinesh Thapa Magar Defenders: Sabindra Maharjan, Bikash Singh Chhetri, Biraj Maharjan, Sandip Rai, Rabin Shrestha, Sagar Thapa, Rohit Chand, Deepak Bhusal, Jeetendra Karki Midfielders: Shiva Shrestha, Anil Ojha, Bhola Silwal, Raju Tamang, Tanka Basnet, Rupesh KC, Nirajan Khadka, Bijay Gurung, Jagjeet Shrestha Forwards: Anil Gurung, Sujal Shrestha, Santosh Sahukhala, Jumanu Rai, Ganesh Lawati, Bharat Khawas. nnnn. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR OFFICE BEARERS IN UCPN (MAOIST) Kathmandu, 5 Aug,: The ruling UCPN (Maoist) on Saturday announced that the party´s general convention would be held from January 27, Kiiran Tin writes in Republica. The party has not held any general convention for the last 22 years. The party had also failed to hold the general convention announced two years ago. The party, however, is yet to fix the venue for the general convention. The party also announced a major reshuffling of party responsibilities, the first since the party split. Important responsibilities in the party are held by leaders close to Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. All bureau in-charge and the party spokesperson have been chosen from among former standing committee members. While Shakti Basnet and Haribol Gajurel have been promoted as in-charge of far-western bureau and Madhes bureau respectively, Agni Sapkota has been appointed party spokesperson. Similarly, Dahal´s aide Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been appointed chief of the party´s organization department, which is considered an important wing of the party. "Former politburo members will now be given the responsibility of state committees," said Bishwabhakta Dulal, newly appointed in-charge of the Tamsaling State Committee. The factions led by Vice-chairmen Baburam Bhattarai and Narayankaji Shrestha have been allocated two important state committees of a total of 13 committees. Bhattarai faction has been demanding 40 percent share in the party organization. Of all the state committees, Newa and Tamsaling state committees are considered the most important. Prime Minister Bhattarai´s political advisor and Abadh state committee in-charge Debendra Paudel has been appointed Newa committee in-charge. This post was vacant after Hitman Shakya joined the breakaway CPN-Maoist. Similarly, Bishwabhakta Dulal close to vice chairman Shrestha has replaced Agni Sapkota as the in-charge of Tamsaling State Committee considered the most lucrative. Bhattarai faction had been demanding Newa and Tamsaling state committees. Similarly, another important state committee is Magarat. Rolpa and Rukum which were the bases of the Maoists during the people´s war lie in this state. The party has nominated Lokendra Bista Magar as the in- charge of the committee replacing Hemanta Prakash Oli. Both are close to Dahal. Likewise, Tamuwan in-charge Dilaram Acharya has replaced Hitaraj Pande, while Nabaraj Subedi has been appointed Tharuwan in-charge. Similarly, Hemant Prakash Oli has been appointed Limbuwan in-charge, Lila Bahadur Thapa Magar Kirat in-charge, Gopal Kirati Kochila in-charge, Chandra Prakash Khanal Abadh in-charge, Bhim Prakash Gautam Mithila in-charge and Bishwanath Sah Bhojpura in-charge. Similarly, Giridharilal Nyaupane has been appointed Seti-Mahakali in-charge, Lekharaj Bhatta Bheri-Karnali in-charge. Likewise, Hitaraj Pande has been appointed chief of the finance department while Nanda Kishor Pun has been appointed chief of youth and former PLA. Ram Karki has been appointed foreign bureau in-charge. Nnnn ________________________________________ MORE NEPALIS KNOCK UN DOOR FOR JUSTICE AT HOME Kathmandu, 5 Aug: Deprived of justice in Nepal, more and more victims of human rights violations have been knocking on the doors of the UN Human Rights Committee in recent years, accusing the state of violating their civil and political rights enumerated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Kiran Chapagain writes isn Republica.. Officials at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Republica that the number of victims approaching the Human Rights Committee, a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the ICCPR, with complaints against Nepal is increasing every year especially after 2009. Thanks to Nepal´s failure to form transitional justice mechanisms to deal with such complaints. "Until 2009, only two-three complaints had been filed against the state at the Human Rights Committee, but now the number has reached 21, including one filed by a French national," said a source at the prime minister´s office. These cases, according to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relate to torture, forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings allegedly committed by the state during the conflict time. Some of the widely-talked cases that are being considered at the Human Rights Committee include alleged extra-judicial killing of Subhadra Chaulgain, Chakra Bahadur Katuwal, Gyanendra Tripathi and Sarita Tharu. As Nepal is a signatory to the ICCPR and its Optional Protocol, Nepalis can file complaints at the Human Rights Committee after they do not get justice even after exhausting all available domestic remedies. "The growing number of individuals approaching the Human Rights Committee gives one the message that Nepal´s justice system is failing to deliver," said Dr Trilochan Uprety, former law secretary who handled human rights issues at the Prime Minister´s office until early this week. Human rights activist Mandira Sharma, who helped take Tripathi´s case before the Human Rights Committee, said that state agencies, in some cases, have even refused to register first information reports and disrespected court orders in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators in many cases of human rights abuse. "Such a situation at home has made victims frustrated and has prompted them to knock on the doors of the UN Human Rights Committee," said Sharma. "This situation has tarnished the image of the country before the international community. What will happen to this image if all the cases are decided [against the government] and at one go." If the Human Rights Committee finds a violation of the rights guaranteed in the ICCPR in a particular case, it can request the state to provide remedy to the victimized individuals. Such remedies may take specific form, such as the payment of compensation, the repeal or amendment of legislation or release of a detained person, etc. The decision of two victims to approach the Human Rights Committee for remedies has been fruitful. The UN body decided in favor of Yubraj Giri of Banke and Surya Prasad Sharma of Baglung and recommended to the government to investigate and prosecute those involved in torturing, disappearing and murdering Giri and Sharma and to provide ´fair´ compensation to the families of the victims. Once the Human Rights Committee receives complaints from individuals, it seeks response from the concerned state before passing any decision. In this process, the Human Rights Committee has recently sought response from the government in connection with the complaints filed on behalf of Chaulagain, Sarita Tharu and Katuwal. But the government officials have found themselves in a fix this time on how to respond to the committee´s query. In previous cases, they told the body that the government was going to address the concerns of the complaintants by forming Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission on Disappearances. And even the Human Rights Committee was convinced by the replies. "Now that the Constituent Assembly has expired, there is no likelihood of the government forming the transitional justice mechanism. We are struggling with how to respond to the Human Rights Committee in the cases of Chaulagain, Tharu and Katuwal," said a government official on condition of anonymity. nnnn ________________________________________