Nepal: Humanitarian law handbook ready for launch

16 March 2015

Kathmandu (ICRC) – A handbook for parliamentarians and other civilian authorities will be presented at a ceremony in Kathmandu tomorrow. It is written in both Nepali and English.

Together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nepal Red Cross Society, the event is being organized by the Nepal's national committee for the incorporation of international humanitarian law into domestic law. Present at the ceremony will be Subas Chandra Nembang, chairman of the Constituent Assembly, and Narahari Acharya, minister for law, justice, the Constituent Assembly and parliamentary affairs (who also chairs the national committee) and Anthony Dalziel, the ICRC's head of operations for South Asia.

"This handbook's purpose is to familiarize parliamentarians and other civilian authorities with the basic rules and principles of international humanitarian law," Dalziel said. "We hope to enhance awareness of their key role in promoting compliance with the law, especially by adopting appropriate national legislation." He pointed out that it would also prove useful to judges, lawyers, academics, journalists and civil society as a whole.

The event will be attended by over 100 individuals: senior officials of the Government of Nepal, senior members of the security forces, representatives of UN agencies, human rights and academic institutions, media representatives and the members of the Red Cross family.

For further information, please contact:
Krishna Chalisey, ICRC Kathmandu, tel: +977 1 4107285 or +977 98510 00602