Kathmandu, December 26:

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today decided to call on the government to improve the Person Disappearance (Crime and Punishment) Bill, 2008.

A meeting of the commissioners held today decided to ask the government to improve the bill in order to make the commission more independent and competent in its functioning.

“The commission has passed the decision.

We are working to forward the decision to the government on Sunday,” an NHRC source told

this daily.

According to the source, the constitutional rights body had wished to render the disappearance commission more independent and to make it competent for probing the disappearance cases.

The government had proposed that the recommendation committee select the commissioners under the speaker of the legislature parliament and the induction of ministers, but the NHRC has decided to ask the government to form the recommending body under the Chief Justice to select the commissioners, granting them more independence and competence.

The rights watchdog also decided to suggest that the government set up the commission meeting an international standard and granting it functional independence.

The rights body also said that the disappearance commission should be formed respecting the June 1, 2007 mandamus order of the Supreme Court.

The apex court has set criteria to make the commission more independent.