Who we work with

Protective Accompaniments

PBI - Nepal provides accompaniment to Nepalese human rights organizations in different districts on request. PBI has offices in Kathmandu and Bardiya District, Midwest of Nepal.

Advocacy Forum (AF)

Since October 2006, the project provides protective accompaniment to Advocacy Forum for key cases of conflict-related human rights abuses that they are filing on behalf of victims’ families. Their work throughout the country, related to torture, disappearances and extra-judicial killings, includes the investigation, filing and prosecution of cases.

PBI-Nepal began providing protective accompaniment to AF during the fourth quarter of 2006. Since then, PBI has developed a strong working relationship with AF and has accompanied Advocacy Forum staff from their head office, four regional offices and seven district offices, while filing cases on behalf of victims and victims’ groups and accompanying lawyers to detention centers. By providing protective presence to AF, PBI contributes to the empowerment of those who play a strategic role in protecting vulnerable groups.

Conflict Victims’ Committee (CVC)

Since February 2007, PBI-Nepal has been accompanying the Conflict Victims’ Committee (CVC) from Bardiya. Bardiya has been one of the most conflict-affected regions and has the highest number of cases of disappearances in Nepal. CVC is a 200 plus-member human rights victims’ group fighting for justice and against impunity. Initial meetings were carried out in November 2006 while PBI field volunteers were visiting the Midwest Region. Since then, protective accompaniments have been provided on a regular basis, mostly in Banke and Bardiya Districts, since CVC members are facing risk while organizing committees and working on documentation.

Dalit Feminist Uplift Organisation (DAFUO)

In May 2009  - Nepal started partnership with the Dalit Feminist Uplift Organisation (DAFUO).  DAFUO was established by Dalit women in 1997 as an independent Nepali NGO in Gulariya, Bardiya district. DAFUO works on human rights of marginalized communities, particularly focusing on women rights. It is run by and for Dalit women with the goal of tackling discrimination, improving their social and economic status and increasing access to constitutional rights. DAFUO has branch offices in Dailekh district (Mid-West region) and Baitadti district (Far Western region).

PBI Nepal accompanies DAFUO on request to support with filing of FIRs.

Jai Kishor Labh

Human Rights Defender Jai Kishor Labh has campaigned for more than six years for justice in the case of the enforced disappearance of the family’s eldest son Sanjeev Kumar Karna in October 2003, allegedly by state security forces.  In October 2009, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum released a report citing the uninvestigated case of Sanjieev Kumar Karna as an example of ongoing impunity for human rights violations in Nepal, and naming senior police officials as persons to be questioned.   Advocacy Forum has been active on this case for at least three years.

PBI - Nepal started accompaniment to Jai Kishor Labh in November 2009 after a rise in threats to his person and that of his younger son, Rajeev. 

Jai Kishor passed away on 18 April 2010.

Devi Sunuwar

In February 2010 PBI - Nepal started accompanying Devi Sunuwar, a member of Conflict Victim's Society for Justice in Kavre District and the mother of Maina Sunuwar, one of the most emblematic cases of disappearance in Nepal. Maina was taken by the army in February 2004 from her home and died as consequence of torture. To date none of the perpetrators has been brought to justice. 

Devi has campaigned tirelessly for truth and justice in her daughter's case supported by Advocacy Forum and other organisations. 

Looking to the future

One of PBI’s priorities for the upcoming years is to expand its protection work. With the continual emergence of conflict victims’ groups throughout Nepal seeking justice for past human rights violations, PBI expects to receive additional requests for international protection both in Kathmandu and other regions.

At the regional level in particular, human rights journalists continue to face difficulties with regard to the freedom of expression.  PBI-Nepal expects to receive further protection requests from this targeted group as well as others, including Women Human Rights Defenders, which is expected to be a focus of work in the immediate future.