Kathmandu, August 19

A member of the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, Bishnu Pathak, said resource crunch was making the transitional mechanism’s work more challenging.

Talking to THT, Pathak said if the new government failed to address CIEDP’s concerns about resources, including sophisticated phones, cameras and human resources, he would stage fast-unto-death.

“I have already written to a top diplomat of the United Nations about it,” he said, adding that after writing a letter to the global body, a top level UN diplomat showed concerns and came to meet him.

“The government seems reluctant to give us the needed resources so that it can later blame us for not doing our job,” he added. Pathak said the CIEDP office bearers would soon meet the prime minister and discuss their concerns with the latter.

Pathak said the CIEDP needed over 40 sophisticated phones, dozens of cameras and adequate human resources, including counsellors, to collect evidences related to the complaints. “Our investigators might be attacked or evidences they could gather from victims might be destroyed by the perpetrators.

We need sophisticated mobile phones so that the moment our staff gather valuable evidences, they could immediately scan them and send them to our data base,” Pathak added.

He said CIEDP investigators needed to tour all 75 districts after Dashain to collect ante-mortem data but the government had not yet provided sufficient number of staff and counsellors.

“We need counsellors, along with our investigators, who could provide emotional support to the victims and prepare them to narrate their stories and provide us the needed evidences,” Pathak added.

Pathak said CIEDP’s work was much more challenging, as 25 per cent of cases out of 2,846 complaints could require excavation at suspected sites. He said digging out one site could take at least one month and DNA test of degenerated bones could take 6-9 months.

Pathak said CIEDP would need at least one year to collect ante-mortem data. The two-year term of the transitional mechanism expires on February 10, 2017.

He said the CIEDP would need at least 10 years to complete its assigned task. Of the 2,846 complaints that the CIEDP has received so far, 450 have little evidence to support their claims, according to Pathak.

He said the CIEDP would need more time to collect evidences on these cases and the transitional mechanism might even put the investigation of some cases on hold.

Pathak said the transitional mechanism received more complaints of enforced disappearances/ missing persons than the government’s official data, of 1,530 enforced disappearance.

CIEDP will thoroughly investigate the claims to determine genuine claims, he added.

“Some people might have filed complaints just to get compensation. We will investigate the genuineness of complains,” he added.