Kathmandu, July 27

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has decided to give top priority to complaints related to rape and sexual abuse when it starts investigation into thousands of conflict-era rights violation cases.

Second priority will be given to complaints related to crimes committed against the elderly and physically challenged people, according to a directive recently endorsed by the TRC.

Similarly, complaints related to crimes committed against children, single women, and people struggling with terminal and serious diseases would also be given priority.

All other complaints relating to the conflict-era crimes will be investigated without priority or preference.

TRC member Madhabi Bhatta told The Himalayan Times that the transitional justice mechanism had decided to prioritise some heinous crimes in accordance with the spirit of TRC Act.

She, however, said that it would be difficult to strictly follow the set priority while conducting inquiry into conflict-era crimes.

The Maoist insurgency began from February 1996 and lasted till November 2006.

Since mid-April, the TRC has been collecting complaints from conflict victims and so far the transitional justice instrument has received more than 55,000 complaints related to rights violation.

It will continue to receive war-era complaints until August 10.

There is no exact data on the number of complaints relating to rape and sexual abuse, but human rights defenders claim that over 200 such heinous crimes were committed during the insurgency by both the state security forces as well as the then Maoist rebels.

Most of the complaints are related to seizure of property, displacement, enforced disappearances, murder and extra-judicial killings.

TRC Chairman Surya Kiran Gurung said the body at first would conduct preliminary inquiry into all registered complaints, verify their genuineness and categorise them as per the nature of alleged crimes.

It would then launch a thorough investigation giving due priority to complaints related to rape and sexual abuse.