UN condemns deadly attacks on low-caste youths in Nepal

KATHMANDU: The UN rights chief has urged Nepal to investigate the murder of six young members of the persecuted Dalit minority, including a 12-year-old girl, after the deadly attacks sparked outrage in the Himalayan country.

The tradition of "untouchability" and mistreatment against the low-caste Dalits, who make up around 13 percent of Nepal’s population, persists even though discrimination is formally outlawed.

Last week a group of young friends were chased and attacked by a village mob, incensed that one of the boys was planning to marry a girl from a different caste.

They were forced to jump into a river in western Rukum district where at least five of them drowned, according to police and media reports, while a sixth was still missing.

Police have so far arrested 20 people over the attack, including a local government official accused of participating.

In another incident on the same day, the body of a 12-year-old Dalit girl was found hanging from a tree in the southern district of Rupendehi.

She had been killed after she was forced to marry her alleged rapist from a different caste, the UN said.

"Despite constitutional guarantees, impunity for caste-based discrimination and violence remains high in Nepal," UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement calling for an independent investigation into the deaths.

The deaths have sparked an outcry on social media and in Nepal’s parliament.

A small group defied the coronavirus lockdown in capital Kathmandu to stage a demonstration against the killings.

"These horrific deaths exemplify the discrimination and violence that Dalits continue to face in Nepal," said Amnesty International’s Nirajan Thapaliya.

Government spokesman Kedar Nath Sharma said authorities were investigating the attack in Rukum.

"We are committed to finding the truth," Sharma told AFP.

Dalits in Nepal are frequently banned from entering temples or drinking from communal wells and inter-caste marriages are often frowned upon.