Stakeholders have emphasised on the need of consultation with conflict victims to formulate the reparation policy of the transitional justice bodies. 

Rights defenders and the representatives of conflict victims, in a consultative meeting on Thursday, underscored the need of adopting a bottom-up approach while formulating the reparation policy before the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Commission (CIEDP) and Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) formally begin their investigation into the complaints of conflict-era cases. 

“Individual need should be a major factor,” said lawyer Gyanendra Raj Aaran, who is also a conflict victim, “Employment and vocational training for the victims should be prioritised in reparation policy.”

CIEDP Chairman Lokendra Mallick assured that the victims’ needs and concerns would be taken into account while drafting the reparation policy.  “It is responsibility of the government to enact the required laws,” said Mallick, “The commission will consult with the victims to formulate the reparation policy.” 

Truth, justice, reparation and guarantee of non-recurrence of the past incidents are considered the main pillars of transitional justice. But in Nepal’s case, the debate on transitional justice has been limited to the issues of truth and justice alone.

 “The victims’ community has been engaging with the commissions to critically cooperate as well as intervene into the policies,” said Ram Kumar Bhandari, chairperson of the National Network of Families of Disappeared and Missing Nepal (NEFAD).

He said the victims’ community would point out the weakness of the commissions as well as put forward their demands. 

“A powerful and independent commission to look into our concerns has been our demand for long,” Bhandari said. “Based on their performance, we extend our support and criticise them. We want to make these commissions work for conflict victims.”

TRC member Shree Krishna Subedi said that the commission has drafted a reparation policy, which will be finalised only after consultation with the victims. “The victims should own the ownership of the document, which is possible through their involvement in the finalisation process,” he said.