Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is pushing for the amendment to the Truth and Reconciliation Bill-2014 through the federal Parliament before his trip to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled for September 16. The bill, which deals with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP), was tabled in the Parliament on March 9. After discussing the bill in the full House, it was sent to the parliamentary Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee on May 8 to reach a bipartisan consensus on it. So far, no further progress has been made as the major political parties have yet to reach consensus on key issues related to serious human rights abuses. The committee has so far held discussion for 27 days with the stakeholders, former National Human Rights Commission members and the victims' groups. The erstwhile TRC and CIEDP had collected as many as 64,000 complaints. But no legal action has been taken against those involved in the human rights violations during the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed the lives of 17,000 people from the state and the then Maoist rebels, who are now in power. As per the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) reached in 2006, both the warring Maoists and then government had agreed to settle the human rights abuses within six months from the date of signing the CPA.

As PM Dahal embarksAs PM Dahal embarks for the UNGA, he appeared to be frantic in soliciting consensus from among the major political parties to pass the bill from the federal Parliament before he joins the UNGA, where he could face tough questions from UN rights groups forfrom UN rights groups for failing to conclude the peace process. International pressure is increasing on the government to conclude the peace process as per the international standard and two Supreme Court verdicts. The Maoists and the Nepali Congress that was in power during most part of the conflict are now in a precarious condition when it comes to delivering justice to the conflict victims.

However, the bill, tabled in the Parliament, has proposed giving leniency even to serious right abuses.

Even if the ruling and main opposition - CPN- UML - pass the bill as it is, the international community will not recognise it. Delivering justice to the conflict victims should be the paramount objective of the bill.

It is unlikely that the parliamentary committee will reach consensus on the bill and the full House will endorse it before the PM's participation in the UNGA.

The committee is still debating whether or not to given clemency on serious human rights violations during the decade-long conflict. Should the bill be passed as per the apex court verdicts and international standard, many Maoist rebels, NC leaders and high-ranking security personnel of the Nepali Army and Nepal Police will face prosecution on charges of human rights violation. The ongoing peace process will not be construed to have concluded without giving proper justice to the conflict victims. So there is no option other than to make the bill compatible with international standards. Nepal may have restored peace following the CPA, but justice has remained elusive even 17 years after signing the deal between the state and then rebels that ended the insurgency.

Tusker menace

Tusker menace is something dreaded by the farmers of the Tarai belt. Year in year out, wild elephants that enter either from the Indian jungles or Nepal's national parks go on a rampage, destroying not only standing crops but also people's homes, at times even putting their lives at risk. On Friday, wild elephants straying from the Shuklaphanta National Park are said to have destroyed paddy planted on around 20 bighas of land in its vicinity. The farmers are powerless against the elephants, who enter the villages at night and return to their habitat the following morning after eating all the paddy.

It is not easy to chase away the elephants when they arrive in herds by beating drums or lighting fire crackers. The farms must be fenced with electrical wires as has been done to protect sugarcane farms in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. At a time when farms are left uncultivated due to a shortage of hands, the menace from wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and wild boars will only discourage the farmers from tilling their land. Since animal attacks are a regular phenomenon in the Tarai belt, insuring their crops would go a long way in compensating for the damage caused by unforeseen forces.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.