KATHMANDU, AUGUST 28

Conflicts Victims Communities and Civil Society Organisations together are going to organise a Candle Vigil at New Baneshwor on 30 August on the occasion of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Every year, August 30 is observed as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances around the world.

After the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances came into force in 2010, the United Nations designated the day as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances since 2011.

The Convention defines 'enforced disappearance' as 'the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.'

In Nepal too, there have been many forced disappearances. During the decade-long armed conflict and the resulting unrest, a large number of civilians have disappeared from the state and the warring parties, and hundreds of them are still missing, according to the Conflicts Victims Communities.

In point No 5.2.3 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, it has been clearly mentioned that 'both sides agree to make public within 60 days of signing of the agreement information about the real name, caste and address of the people 'disappeared' or killed during war and to inform the family about it.' But even after 17 years of the agreement, the status of the missing has not been made public.

As the issue of enforced disappearance is a grave and continuous crime, with a view to raising voices and creating pressure for the effective criminal investigation of these incidents and to deliver truth, justice and reparations to the victims and their families, conflict victim communities and civil society organisations are jointly organising a candle vigil program in front of Everest Hotel, at New Baneshwor, on the evening of August 30 from 5:30pm onwards.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 29, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.