News Update from Nepal 4 December 2007 Human Rights and Security Challenges On November 6, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal criticized the government and CPN(Maoist) for not abiding the peace accord. It claimed that in the last nine months 115 persons have been killed by various groups: Madhesi People's Rights Forum(MPRF) killed 30, Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha(JTMM-Singh) 11, JTMM(Goit) 9, Maoists 9, Security Personnel 10, Tarai Kobra 1, Tarai Bagi 1, bomb planted by unidentified persons killed 15, Kapilvastu riot 14 and cause unidentified 19 persons. The security situation in the Tarai is getting worse with one person killed every other day and two people abducted every day. The secretaries of the Village Development Committee have resigned en masse due to insecurity, violence and extortion. On November 8, the government made the 12 th amendment to the Nepal police regulations with the provision for recruiting 32 percent indigenous nationalities, 28 percent Madhesis, 15 percent Dalits, 20 percent women and 5 percent from backward regions. It tabled two ordinances- the Nepal Trust Ordinance and the Arms and Ammunition Ordinance- in Parliament. The first one provides for the transfer of the property of the late King Birendra and his family into a trust. The second one increases jail terms for the illegal possession of arms. It also decided to recruit 2,500 Armed Police Force(APF) and set up a special taskforce of 50 security personnel under the command of Deputy Superintendent of the Armed Police Force(APF). This task force has already been deployed in the Kathmandu Valley and eight Tarai districts – Siraha, Saptari, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Mahottari, Dhanusha and Sarlahi ­with the authority to arrest and initiate legal action against those suspected of being involved in criminal activities and possessing arms. The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction has unveiled two new projects- Post Conflict Reconstruction and Peace Memorial and Peace Honor. Under the first three­year project nine programs- e.g. peace and reconciliation, institutional strengthening of democracy and awareness, training and self-employment of conflict-hit people and Cooperative Town Planning- will be implemented. CPN(Maoist) On November 5, a day after the CPN-UML and CPN(Maoist) got each other's proposals on a republic and proportional election system passed in the interim parliament, Maoist leader Ram B. Thapa(Badal) declared,"The NC has lost its right to lead the government. If it still wants to lead the alliance it must obey the 1