Denmark helps Nepalese police stop torture
The visit was a part of a collaborative project between the Kathmandu School of Law, three of Nepal's national security forces, the Danish police and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR). The goal of the collaboration is to stop the use of torture and unnecessary violence by the Nepalese police. Police in Nepal are under pressure to solve crimes, but suffer from poor working conditions and lack of equipment to investigate.
Police in Nepal embarking on their own projects
The delegation gathered knowledge about how the Danish police think the protection of human rights into their daily work.
"There are big differences in working conditions in Denmark and Nepal, and therefore the goal of the trip is also to establish a common frame of reference. A select group of employees from the Nepalese security forces will go home with concrete ideas and methods of how to avoid torture and unnecessary violence. They will share the knowledge with their colleagues and in a few months, the Nepalese police will develop local projects in their own police stations in Nepal", says Sofie Gry Fridal Hansen, Project Manager for the project in Nepal.
Built on experience
DIHR is working with the police in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The partnership has strengthened people's confidence in the police and reduced police violence. DIHR work in partnership with the locals. This means that the police in the countries develop educational materials themselves, and even helps train teachers in human rights. DIHR contributes with professional expertise, but does not give ready solutions.
As a result, police forces in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have taken in the human rights approach. Studies show that while police officers in Niger earlier saw human rights as an obstacle to their work, they are now seeing themselves as human rights protectors.
"It is our hope that the same development will happen in Nepal, so police forces look different on human rights and stop using torture," says Sofie Gry Fridal Hansen.