The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has expressed concern regarding the excessive use of force by the police, which resulted in the killings of around 19 student members, including a 7-year-old child, on 8 September 2025 in Nepal.
More than an estimated 500 young people who called themselves “Gen Z” were also injured during the anti-corruption protest, and after the government decided to shut down social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube. Protests were carried out all over the country, and curfews have been placed in many cities of the country.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like to urgently draw international attention to a catastrophic human rights violation unfolding in Nepal. On September 8, 2025, thousands of young Nepalese – primarily students and calling themselves GenZ – mobilised across different cities, including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Itahari, and Damak. Their protest was not merely a reaction to a social media ban. It was a coordinated, peaceful uprising against entrenched corruption, government impunity, and the systematic erosion of free speech, press freedom, and civil dignity.
The trigger was the government’s abrupt shutdown of 26 major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Signal. But the deeper cause was years of unresolved scandals – most notably the $10.4 million Airbus procurement loss – and the unchecked privileges of political elites. Systemic and institutionalised corruption, where the political elite and their children misappropriate public funds and taxes for their lavish lifestyles, while Nepali youth face rampant unemployment and are forced to become migrant labourers abroad. The protest was a demand for transparency, accountability, and the restoration of civic rights.
This was supposed to be a peaceful protest – organised with restraint, and promised to remain nonviolent. But the government did not honour that promise. Instead, it escalated the situation into a massacre, deploying indiscriminate force against innocent protesters, including children, students in uniform, and even those seeking medical aid. This was not a riot. It was a civil rights movement – a fight for dignity, transparency, and the right to speak freely – which was met with a massacre marked by indiscriminate police brutality.
According to verified reports:
- 19 individuals were killed, including minors and schoolchildren
- Protesters were shot in the head and chest with live rounds, not rubber bullets
- Students in uniform were among those shot, with multiple fatalities confirmed by hospital staff
- Police entered hospitals, fired smoke grenades, and shot injured protesters already receiving treatment
- Doctors captured video evidence of police attempting to fire into emergency wards
- Blood donors were beaten outside trauma centres while trying to assist victims
- Journalists and photographers were among the wounded
- Hospitals are overwhelmed, with over 500 injured, and dozens in critical condition
Breakdown of fatalities:
- 8 deaths at the National Trauma Centre
- 3 deaths at the Everest Hospital
- 3 deaths at the Civil Hospital
- 2 deaths at the Kathmandu Medical College
- 1 death at the Tribhuvan Teaching Hospital
- 2 deaths in Itahari, Sunsari District
Doctors at the Everest and Trauma Centre confirmed bullet wounds to the head and chest, with 10+ patients in critical condition. Civil Hospital reported that security forces entered emergency wards, deploying smoke grenades and firing at already-injured youth, including minors. Medical staff at multiple facilities have documented these attacks on video, including footage of police attempting to shoot into hospital corridors.
Outside the National Trauma Centre, volunteers attempting to donate blood were reportedly beaten and dispersed by riot police, despite the hospital’s urgent call for supplies.
One of the most harrowing testimonies came from Dr. Aakriti Joshi, a trauma physician at Civil Hospital, who posted:
“I held the hand of a 14-year-old boy as he died. Bullet wound to the temple. He was wearing his school uniform. He kept asking if his mother was coming. She didn’t know he was here.”
While media coverage has focused on the government’s recent ban on social media platforms, it is essential to recognise that these protests are not solely about censorship. The youth of Nepal are courageously standing up against systemic corruption, abuse of power, and the denial of basic rights. Their demands are clear: stop corruption, ensure accountability, and protect democratic freedoms. But the government’s response was not crowd control. It was a state-sanctioned assault on the Gen G protesters- many of them children – who were exercising their constitutional right to dissent. The use of live ammunition, hospital raids, and curfew-enforced suppression violates multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including:
- Article 3: Right to life, liberty, and security of a person
- Article 19: Freedom of opinion and expression
- Article 20: Right to peaceful assembly
The Asian Human Rights Commission calls for an independent investigation into the killings and criminal prosecution of those responsible. As there is blood on the hands of the government, merely resignations must not be practised. We condemn the government of Nepal and demand an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the killings and injuries under international supervision. Those responsible, including the officials who gave the orders, must be held accountable. The Government of Nepal is to immediately cease all violence against protestors, lift the curfew, and guarantee the safety and security of all citizens, particularly students and activists. We recommend that the international community send international observers to Nepal to monitor the situation, ensure the protection of human rights, and investigate the events of September 8th, 2025, a black day in the history of Nepal. We also request the GenZ protestors to remain peaceful, maintain calmness and refrain from vandalising properties, and lighting vehicles and properties on fire.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
These incidents represent a serious violation of fundamental human rights and breach several international conventions, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966).
Relevant Violations under the UNCRC:
- Article 6: Every child has the inherent right to life, and states must ensure their maximum survival and development.
- Article 19: Children must be protected from all forms of violence, including excessive force by authorities.
- Article 37(a): No child shall be subjected to torture, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
Relevant Violations under the ICCPR:
- Article 6(1): Everyone has the inherent right to life, which must be protected by law.
- Article 24(1): Children are entitled to special protection as minors under international law.
The targeted killing of unarmed school students constitutes a grave violation of their right to life and freedom from violence. These acts demand international accountability under both conventions.