Marking the Holocaust Memorial Day, the diplomatic community in Nepal, together with several Nepali Human rights defenders, has reiterated its call for a credible transitional justice process for addressing the conflict-era human rights violations in the country.

The three-day event to commemorate the victims of Holocaust got underway on Tuesday in Kathmandu amid a programme jointly organised by the UN, EU, Germany and Israel.

A UN Resolution in 2005 decided that January 27 each year to be marked as Holocaust Memorial Day. It is considered a day to remember the millions of people who were murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and elsewhere. 

Addressing the gathering, National Human Rights Commission Chair Anup Raj Sharma, who was the chief guest of the occasion, said Holocaust Memorial Day was an incomparably deep tragedy that would remind the mankind of its obligation to face its past.

German Ambassador to Nepal Roland Schaefer, who stood together with Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Benny Omer, said that the Holocaust Memorial Day was the day on which the Germans confronted their historic shame every year. He stressed on the need of a transitional justice process which would be able to address the concerns of the conflict victims.

The international community, particularly the western democracies and the UN, are said to be unhappy with the workings of the two commissions on transitional justice. The assertion of the German ambassador, who is otherwise openly appreciative of Nepal’s peace process, can be taken as an indication of the collective dissatisfaction of the international community.