Kathmandu, June 16:

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today asked the government to quickly implement the Supreme Court’s (SC) recent order to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the cases of thousands of enforced disappearances in Nepal’s civil conflict.

On June 1, the SC had ruled on a large number of enforced disappearance cases, including 80 habeas corpus writs, and ordered the government to immediately investigate all allegations of enforced disappearances.

“Nepal’s new government has promised to find the truth and ensure justice for those who have been forced to disappear, but it has been slow to make good on these pledges,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch in a statement today. “Implementing the Supreme Court’s order on ‘disappearances’ will be a key test of the Nepali government’s commitment to establishing accountability and the rule of law,” it added.

The HRW and the ICJ has also asked the government to propose a new law specifically on enforced disappearances, in line with the Supreme Court order, rather than amend the Civil Code, as the government currently proposes. They have also asked the government to form a ministerial-level task force from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction to take responsibility for action on relevant parts of the Supreme Court order.

They have urged the government to provide the families of the 84 victims with the relief as ordered by the SC.