US stand on Rome Statute of ICC and Nepal

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002003 

SIPDIS 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2016 

TAGS: PGOV PREL NP

SUBJECT: NEPAL PARLIAMENT POISED TO RATIFY ROME STATUTE 

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 

PARLIAMENT PASSES RESOLUTION TO JOIN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL 

COURT 

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¶1. (C) On July 25 the House of Representatives unanimously 

passed a resolution directing the Government of Nepal (GON) 

to ratify the Rome Statute to become a member of the 

International Criminal Court.  Deputy Prime Minister and 

Minister of Foreign Affairs K.P. Oli pledged that the GON 

would ratify the statute soon.  The International Criminal 

Court has jurisdiction over the crime of genocide, crimes 

against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. 

MP'S AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS APPLAUD RESOLUTION 

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¶2. (C) Members of Parliament (MP) and Human Rights activists 

were very positive on Nepal's pending ratification of the 

Rome Statute.  Ananda Prasad Dhungana, MP (Nepali Congress), 

told Emboff it was important to ratify the Rome Statute in 

order for Nepal to be a part of the global system.  He added 

that the statute could help prevent the country from entering 

into a civil war.  Noting that the former royal government 

had committed oppressive acts during the recent pro-democracy 

movement, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, MP (CPN-UML), explained 

that the Rome Statute could provide a deterrent to such 

crimes against humanity happening again.  Kundan Aryal, 

General Secretary of the human rights NGO the Informal Sector 

Service Center (INSEC), opined that the Rome Statute must 

have worried ultra leftists and rightists.  He explained that 

the GON was not powerful enough to punish the King or the 

Army over abuses during the pro-democracy movement, but that 

the Statute would help safeguard democratic institutions from 

being attacked in the future.  Baburam Giri, General 

Secretary of the Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON) 

SIPDIS 

said the Statute would stop both the Nepal and Maoist armies 

from carrying out heinous crimes. 

COMMENT 

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¶3. (C) The sense is that the GON wishes to ratify the Rome 

Statute to further its legitimacy to the international 

community.  While a few people we talked to referred to 

punishing the King and members of the former royal 

government, the Parliament resolution does not seem to have 

come about as a result of any GON intent to seek retribution. 

 Importantly, we have an Article 98 agreement with the GON, 

which presumably will prevent any attempts in Nepal to use 

the International Criminal Court as a vehicle to bash the 

United States.  We plan to meet with the Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs in the coming days to warn the GON against any 

attempt to revoke the Article 98 agreement. 

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/07/06KATHMANDU2003.html