Kathmandu, January 1
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the government to formulate laws that allow citizens to make full use of their freedom of expression.
The commission in a statement said that its attention has been drawn towards the IT bill that was passed by Parliament’s Development and Technology Committee. The commission’s spokesperson Bed Bhattarai said,”Any attempt to manage freedom of expression by placing restrictions against established norms would be against the principles of human rights. We urge the government to become sensitive about this.”
The commission has also said that laws should be formulated by adhering to national and international laws. The commission has reminded the government that OHCHR’s general comment 34 on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that freedom of expression is required for a person to reach his full potential and restrictions should not be placed on it even during times of emergency. Similarly, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ Article 19 and the International International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights say everyone has the right to expression.
The statement comes as Parliament’s Development and Technolgy Committee recently passed the controversial IT bill, which will soon be presented before the full house.
