Kathmandu, Nepal, September 1, 2020: The International Day of the Disappeared (IDoD), which falls on August 30 every year, is marked throughout the world including in Nepal with same call for an end to continuing delays in justice for the victims of the decade long insurgency.
Not only the victims but the various national and international organizations working for transitional justice-related issues in Nepal have raised the issue in a ritual trend. The common urge is that responsible authorities should undertake immediate steps toward a reinvigoration of the transitional justice process in a transparent and consultative process.
With the singing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on November 21, 2006 between the government and then Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist), the decade long armed conflict launched on the name of people’s war was ended in a formally way. But the promise to make the fate of the whereabouts of the disappeared public within 60 days has not implemented yet though 14 years have already passed.
As the government and the political parties remained indifferent to implement the CPA by following the standard norms and values, the transitional justice mechanism of the country have failed to deliver the justice to the victims.
Not bringing truth to the public regarding cases of disappeared during the 14 years period has shuttered the hopes of getting justice even though the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIEDP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) are in inexistence on the name of delivering justice.
Both the TJ mechanisms have become toothless and doing nothing than collecting complaints due to the insufficient laws as per the national and international standards. On the occasion of the IDoD on Sunday, the CIEDP also called on the government to facilitate its activities by amending the existing transitional justice (TJ) law in line with the Supreme Court order to make it victim-friendly.
Though the obligations under international law have been reflected in the Constitution of Nepal and have been reinforced by the Supreme Court in a number of cases, Nepal has not only failed to fulfill these binding obligations allowing for near total impunity, it has also disregarded the concerns, fears, suggestions, and demands presented by the victims’ families, communities, and other concerned stakeholders, the right organizations have stated in the joint call.
