UN Human Rights Experts Begin Active Monitoring of Kathmandu’s Bulldozer Campaign

Kathmandu. United Nations human rights experts have begun active monitoring of the ongoing demolition of huts and shanties in Kathmandu. In an official response sent to Bijay Shah, spokesperson for the Gen Z Movement Nepal, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that detailed information regarding the ongoing bulldozer campaign in various parts of Kathmandu and the deaths associated with it has been forwarded to UN Special Rapporteurs.

The information was sent to UN Special Rapporteurs Koldo Casla, Paula Gaviria Betancur, and Elena Carolina Díaz Galán. They have expressed “serious concern” over the forced evictions taking place in the riverside settlements of Thapathali, Balkhu, and Manohara areas.

The communication also specifically mentioned the incidents where 61-year-old Indra Bahadur Rai died after jumping into the Bagmati River in Balkhu on Baishakh 30, and 17-year-old Robin Tamang was found dead in Thapathali on Baishakh 29. Both of these incidents are reported to have occurred amid the ongoing bulldozer campaign.

The United Nations has requested further details on the condition of the displaced families, the upcoming planned eviction drives, the total number of affected citizens, and the government bodies involved in the process. With this, the ongoing eviction campaign in the riverside settlements of Kathmandu is no longer merely a subject of local dispute but has now become a matter of international human rights concern.