The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is in Nepal on a mission to assess the human rights crisis in the country. Led by ICJ Secretary General Nicholas Howen, the delegation will focus on the judiciary's role in defending human rights as well as on respect for the judiciary's decisions and restrictions on human rights defenders and lawyers. Howen will meet senior government officials, the National Human Rights Commission, the Chief Justice and members of the judiciary and lawyers. This is ICJ's third visit in less than a year and despite its constant appeals to the government, there has been little change in the human rights situation and respect for the judiciary. The administration continues to defy the Supreme Court's order to not re-arrest detainees set free by the highest court. During their November 2004 visit, ICJ officials were highly critical of both the army and Maoists. They called on the government to end the army's practices of impunity and illegal detention and also pressured it to repeal the Terrorist and Disruptive Ordinance. ICJ also called on the Maoists to stop the torture and unlawful killings of civilians. During the emergency in March 2005 ICJ found that Nepal was in the midst of a human rights crisis marked by enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions, torture and secret detention. The commission also criticised the king for abandoning the rule of law and deepening the conflict after his takeover. "The Government of Nepal continues to surpass its already dismal record of contempt for the Supreme Court's habeas corpus decisions," Howen said in March.