Kathmandu, May 15

United Nations has brought to the attention of the Government of Nepal the reported lack of effective consultation with victims concerning the amendment to the existing Act on the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, and Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, made public through the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Nepal today to recall the government about the reported lack of impartiality, independence and transparency in the procedure for the appointment of the members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission on the Investigation of Enforced Disappearance. They also raised the issue of the reported lack of progress in the work undertaken by both commissions; and the possible amendment of the Act on the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Commission-2014.

“In addition, we would like to recall the decision of 3 July 2014 which called on the government to amend several provisions of the TRC Act to put it in conformity with international standards, in particular those relating to the TRC’s competence to recommend amnesties for perpetrators, including for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law,” read a report issued by the UN office in Nepal.

They have requested the government to clarify all cases brought to their  attention. The issues include how the seven provincial level consultations held earlier by the government ensured a broad and effective participation of concerned victims,  how the inputs received from victims and civil society were or will be given due consideration and inclusion in the amended act, and the measures taken to ensure the independence and transparency of the recommendation and appointment of the new commissioners to the TRC and CIEDP to guarantee the compliance of this procedure with International standards on the appointment of members of such commissions. The deadline for the government to respond is July 15, according to the document.

They have also reminded the government of the pending visit requests from the special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparations and guarantee of non-recurrence and from the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to Nepal.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 16, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.