Advocacy Forum

Since October 2006, PBI-Nepal has been providing protective accompaniment to members of Advocacy Forum. Advocacy Forum is a leading non-governmental organisation working to promote the rule of law and uphold international human rights standards in Nepal. Established in 2001 by human rights lawyers, Advocacy Forum addresses cases of human rights violations while providing free legal assistance to victims of torture and others in need. They raise awareness about human rights violations through domestic and international channels, while supporting legal reforms to make the justice system in Nepal more efficient and accessible. One of Advocacy Forum's founding members, Mandira Sharma, recently received Human Rights Watch's highest honor.

Advocacy Forum has offices in 12 different districts of Nepal, including more than 100 workers including lawyers, volunteers and interns. Upon request, PBI-Nepal team members travel to the different district offices to accompany Advocacy Forum lawyers as they file cases.

In addition, PBI-Nepal has been exploring requests by different victims groups that have emerged in the past year, in particular in the Southern strip of Nepal, the Terai, where the incidence of disappeared during the conflict was very high.

Quotes of Advocacy Forum staff members regarding PBI

"I wish you will join us in Nepal to promote a sustainable peace and support the protection of human rights workers like myself as part of the important work of PBI."

January 2007 plea to PBI volunteers-in-training, New Delhi, India

"We faced many threats including to our families. The support of PBI has played a very crucial role to uphold our security and give moral support to the human rights community in Nepal during this time of difficulty for us, especially [during the period] when we filed 900 cases of habeus corpus for illegal detention during the conflict. So far, 700 cases have been released."

On the period before the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"Threats, risk and challenges are still present for us and we need PBI to be with us. The person who has killed an innocent person should be punished in order to end impunity. Our goal at Advocacy Forum is an impunity-less society. One advocate [lawyer] quit his job with us because of threats. In spite of this, many others are working against impunity. We advocate on the basis of law - international humanitarian law and national law - a rights-based approach. The work of human rights organizations in Nepal is still very important. PBI strengthens human rights defenders so we can claim the rights of citizens, and creates moral pressure on the perpetrators."