Govt ‘not bothered’ to constitute commission

Kathmandu, September 8:

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Bill is gathering dust at the Peace and

Reconstruction Ministry after it was “disapproved” both by the civil society and the international community.

It has been over a month since the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction published the first draft of the Bill.

A member of the Peace and Reconciliation Consultation Committee said the Bill has been “dumped” and the government is not bothered to constitute the TRC.

Professor Kapil Shrestha sniffed sarcasm saying that the government has made a mockery of the TRC. Shrestha said that the Bill does not meet the international norms of TRC. “It has failed to respect the international human rights laws and the international humanitarian laws,” he told this daily today.

TRC does not “appear in the list of the government’s priority” since no development has been made so far. This, as Shrestha says, “indicates”

that the government is least bothered to bring perpetrators to justice.

The Amnesty International (AI) in its recent report had raised similar concerns saying that the Bill may not realise the objectives of its own preamble that aims at ending impunity by bringing the rights violators to book.

The document is controversial for its “blanket amnesty” to those who committed serious crimes during the 10-year old conflict. “If all perpetrators are spared, this can have a serious effect on the peace process,” a leader said insisting anonymity.

The aim of the TRC is to make public facts of those people committing serious rights violations and crimes against humanity; bring an end to impunity by bringing the rights violators and those involved in crimes against humanity to justice; provide justice to the conflict victims and provide them with due compensation as a relief and maintain reconciliation, social harmony, tolerance among tormentors and victims in society.

Human rights defender and a member of the committee Subodh Pyakurel said the Bill “is gathering dust due to lack of seriousness” among the eight parties and the government.

However, Minister of State of Labour and Transport Management Ramesh Lekhak gave a short answer saying that the government was “holding discussions” on it.