Human Rights Watch, a global monitoring organization for human rights violations, has concluded that police used excessive force, including deadly weapons, during the Gen Z protests in Nepal. Human Rights Watch has recommended holding security forces and political figures involved in the use of force accountable.

The report, released on Sunday, says police fired indiscriminately for three hours during the Gen-G protests on 23 Bhadra. Human Rights Watch concluded that people took to the streets the next day to protest after the state cracked down on them.

While some of the vandalism, looting, and arson on 24 Bhadra were spontaneous incidents of citizen anger, the report says that some of the incidents indicate the use of planned violence. The report points out that attacks on government institutions, businesses, and media outlets have involved individuals who have no direct connection to the Gen-G movement. 

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, has said that the violent incidents in Nepal on 23 Bhadra constituted serious human rights violations. “The security officials or political figures responsible for this must be held accountable,” she said. “The government must complete the investigation in an independent, transparent and timely manner and ensure that no one who violates the law is spared.”

Human Rights Watch said it interviewed 52 eyewitnesses, victims, journalists, health workers, politicians, and sources connected to security agencies in the course of preparing the report. “The report was prepared from photos and videos shared on social media or provided to the researcher, as well as field research conducted at hospitals and sites of demonstrations and arson,” Human Rights Watch said. “The study was focused on Kathmandu.”

Based on interviews with eyewitnesses and analysis of the footage, the report concluded that the use of lethal force on 23 Bhadra did not justify the use of lethal force on that day, as the footage did not pose an immediate or immediate threat to the police. The report states that the police used lethal force between 12:30 and 4 pm to disperse the youth that day. “They were shot in the head, chest and stomach,” the report said. 

The crowd of protesters, who had been gathering since 9 am after preparing through social media platforms including Discord, had grown to a large size by 11 am, the report said. “As the protesters advanced towards the parliament building, some crossed the barricades on one side of the road,” the report said. “The police used tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse them.” 

By then, a large number of protesters had gathered at the main gate of the parliament building, while some were throwing stones at the police. The government had issued a curfew order at around 12:30 pm. However, the protesters and journalists who spoke to the researcher said that they were not aware that the government had given any notice of it. A police officer said that the police started firing with lethal weapons just 5 minutes after the curfew order was issued. 

By 1 pm, the report said that the situation had deteriorated significantly. None of the eyewitnesses interviewed said they were aware of any warning from the police before using lethal force. The protest was said to have been peaceful until a 20-year-old student was shot in the shoulder at 1:40 p.m. “When everything was calm, the police suddenly opened fire without any reason,” said one student. 

In the evening, the Special Task Force (STF) inside the parliament building reportedly detained 33 students in the parliament compound. They were allegedly beaten and threatened and released in the evening, the report said. 

The report also mentions police entering the hospital premises and lathi-charging them. It is said that a staff member was also injured in the process. A former senior police officer interviewed by the researchers commented on the police’s failure to follow procedures for controlling the protest and the use of lethal force. “The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Deadly Weapons prohibit the use of firearms except in the event of imminent danger of death or serious injury,” the report said. “Deliberate lethal force may only be used when absolutely necessary to save life.” 

Nepal's law also requires that security forces use lethal force, even when ordered to use lethal force, with prior warning and non-lethal measures. "The impunity enjoyed by past human rights violators made this violence possible in Nepal, and it is imperative that governments reverse decades of failure to investigate and prosecute," said Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

The first day's use of force resulted in the second day's violence,

The report quotes eyewitnesses and analysts as saying that while the crowd on Bhadra 23 was mainly made up of young protesters, other groups were involved in the violence and arson on the second day. It is also noted that a local government in Myagdi was hacked to spread a message inciting protests. "The message stated that peace in Nepal would only come if the blood of a leader who sheds the blood of innocent children is shed," the report said. 

The report also mentions eyewitness accounts and news reports that incitement or instructions to attack people's property were being spread on social media and 'Discord'. It is said that the protesters also vandalized, set fire to and looted weapons at police offices. Three policemen were also beaten to death in the process. According to the report, the first attack on the police post took place at the post in Harisiddhi at 11:34 on 24 Bhadra. 

The attack took place at Ulens School in Khumaltar around 11 am. It is said that 10 to 15 people carrying sticks, knives and petrol came to the office of Kantipur TV in Tinkune between 1:30 pm and 2 pm. They vandalized the television office and beat up four employees. “The attackers set fire to vehicles parked outside the studio and pushed a burning scooter inside, causing the channel to go off-air for 70 hours,” the report said. “The offices of two major dailies of the Kantipur Group, located in separate locations, were evacuated at around 12:30 pm. According to employees, it is believed that the mob set fire to the building between 3:30 pm and 4 pm.” The report also mentions that the Annapurna Post office was set on fire.

It is said that between 12:30 pm and 1 pm, various groups started approaching important government structures such as the Supreme Court and Singha Durbar. It is said that between 2 and 2:30 pm, men entered the Supreme Court and took out a large number of files and burned them in the parking area. It is said that the Supreme Court building was set on fire sometime after that.

Some witnesses said that a ‘biker gang’ was seen among the groups involved in the arson. “They were said to be carrying khukuri and iron rods. An eyewitness said they used petrol from a motorcycle to make bombs and set fire to the main building of Singha Durbar,” the report said. “Many businessmen and traders’ houses were attacked, but similar businesses in the neighbourhood were spared.”

The fire broke out at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Sheetal Niwas at 4:25 pm. The report states that a small number of soldiers present at the gate were unable to stop them from entering. “An eyewitness said that he was present at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar when the fire broke out. He mentioned that the police deployed in Baluwatar said, ‘We will not fire on you,’” the report says. “The gate was opened after 10-15 minutes.”

Sudip Pathak, a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, says that although the issue of implementing the Human Rights Watch report is not binding on the government, it sends a message to the international community, so it is morally unacceptable to remain silent. "A democratic country can take this as a basis and move forward with further processes, making the issues mentioned in it a matter of investigation," he says. "If the state keeps quiet and says it is just a report, it will not do any good in the long run."