Prez certifies amendment bill; TRC, CIEDP term extended by a year

KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has certified the amendment bill on term extension of two transitional justice mechanisms  — the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons.

President Bhandari enacted the amendment bill today, which was endorsed by both the houses of the Federal Parliament, as per Article 113 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal.

The two bodies whose tenure ends on February 10 had applied for a one-year extension as provisioned in the ordinance endorsed by the President on January 19.

The ordinance adopted on January 19 had provisioned that the government could extend the tenure of the TRC and the CIEDP by one year if the two mechanisms request for a term extension stating valid reasons for their failure to complete their jobs in the stipulated time.

The two bodies had cited human and financial resource crunch, lack of necessary legislation and non-cooperation from political parties and the government as reasons for their failure to complete their tasks on time.