Kathmandu, August 7:

Human rights activists today expressed their concern over the prospects of termination of the peace process and have warned that Nepal will be gripped by anarchy if this happened.

They also urged the government to ratify the Rome Statute so that those who have committed war crimes and grave human rights violations could be tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The palace is trying to get the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) to work against the Maoists and disrupt the peace process, said human rights activist Krishna Pahadi. The failure of peace process will fuel conflict which will ultimately make the army powerful and the government will be a mere puppet of the security forces, he said.

“If the King continues to remain in power and the Constituent Assembly elections are called off, cases of impunity will swell and anarchy will prevail in the country,” said Pahadi at an interaction on ‘Impunity, Ratification and Implementation of the Rome Statute.’

The programme was organised by Amnesty International Nepal and Human Rights and Democratic Forum (FOHRID) here today. Emphasising the need to ratify the Rome Statute, human rights activist Pradip Pokharel said the ICC can try individual and institutional cases of gross human rights violations if the government fails to take any action in the country.

“Human rights violators of the decade-long conflict are running scot-free,” he said expressing concern that the political leaders have urged human rights activists not to raise the issue for fear of negative impacts during the peace talks. Similarly, lawyer Shanta Thapaliya urged the government to take the issue of ratification seriously warning that impunity will continue if the government fails to do so.

AI Nepal welcomed the House of Representatives approval of a proposal for the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Once Nepal ratifies the statute, ICC can step in if the Nepali authorities is unwilling to investigate crimes of genocide or war crimes, said AI Nepal.

“By ratifying the Rome Statute, Nepal will also be able to take part in decisions concerning the ICC. This is a very important opportunity for Nepal to have an influence in the working of an international organisation and to represent the particular views and concerns of Asia,” said Amnesty International.