Meanwhile, three leading human rights groups are calling for targeted sanctions against the Nepalese government. On Wednesday, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists issued a joint statement saying King Gyanendra and his senior officials should be refused entry to foreign countries and have their assets frozen. Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: “The human cost of the conflict in Nepal has been catastrophic: people have been killed or 'disappeared,' women attacked and raped, children abducted to fight as soldiers and critics of the regime have been locked up… The international community must now apply pressure through targeted sanctions that will have a direct impact on the king and his cohorts.”