Nepal's Human Rights Abuses and American Aid

A recent article in the New York Times describes human rights abuses in Nepal. In 2002 King Gyanendra took power from the elected government and imposed emergency rule last February. Under emergecy rule many civil liberties were taken away and many members of political parties were arrested. During the past two years, the largest number of new cases of disappeared persons reported to the United Nations have come from Nepal. These abuses have Congress reconsidering giving Nepal more military aid, although the Bush administration has the power to override this decision if they determine there is a national security imperative for the country to receive the aid. For more information about rights abuses in Nepal check out the Human Rights Watch country profile of Nepal.


--Tom Hayes