KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 22
Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF) has urged the interim government to fundamentally rethink its approach to transitional justice, warning that the current direction risks deepening a long-standing culture of impunity. The call comes as AF released its Impunity Report, November 2025 on Thursday, coinciding with the 19th anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Nepal's decade-long armed conflict.
According to AF, victims of the conflict - along with the wider public - are still waiting for truth, justice and reparations nearly two decades after the peace accord. The organisation said recent Gen Z protests highlight growing frustration among young Nepalis over the lack of accountability and respect for the rule of law.
Despite objections from victims' groups and civil society, AF noted that the interim government has endorsed the functioning of the current transitional justice (TJ) commissions by approving funding and regulations for their work. These commissions were appointed by the previous government through what AF describes as a flawed selection process that bypassed victims and lacked transparency. Many appointees reportedly lack expertise and are seen as close to major political parties.
"This risks impunity being further entrenched in our country," said AF Executive Director Bikash Basnet. He added that impunity has remained a persistent feature of Nepal's political landscape before, during and after the armed conflict. "If the TJ commissions don't deliver truth, justice and reparations, we will continue to have impunity in the future."
Basnet emphasised that a credible, well-executed transitional justice process is crucial to safeguarding Nepal's democratic trajectory and preventing a recurrence of past violence.
AF's report links the failure of transitional justice to the grievances that fuelled the Gen Z uprising in early September, arguing that both movements reflect a rejection of arbitrary political power, demand transparency and accountability, and oppose political patronage that undermines public institutions.
The organisation also raised concerns that the commission formed to investigate the events of 8 and 9 September may fall into the same pattern as past commissions - collecting evidence but ultimately failing to hold anyone accountable. "The commissions should not be a vehicle to pacify the call for accountability and to entrench impunity," the report stated.
The report outlines several key recommendations for the interim government, international community and any future TJ bodies formed after meaningful consultation with victims. These include reconstituting the TJ commissions, vetting alleged perpetrators, preventing their possible flight, establishing a comprehensive reparations policy, and launching public debate on reforming Nepal's security agencies, bureaucracy and judiciary.
AF also urged the international community not to endorse or support what it called a flawed TJ process that risks further entrenching impunity and perpetuating cycles of violence.
