The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has welcomed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s commitment to transitional justice (TJ) and his position not to allow blanket amnesty to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has welcomed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s commitment to transitional justice (TJ) and his position not to allow blanket amnesty to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.
In his briefing to the international community on Tuesday, PM Oli said his government fully adheres to the values of human rights as a party to different international conventions that also apply to transitional justice.
The PM made such commitments as the international community keenly watches the ongoing process of transitional justice in Nepal.
He said the TRC and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) are working to address the issues of transitional justice.
“We are serious in our intentions to ensure that the process is fair and free from pressure and influences—both from within and outside the country,” PM Oli said during the briefing.
“We consider that by attaining economic development and providing means of implementation of human rights obligations create an enabling environment for all to enjoy human rights.”
Manchala Jha, a TRC member, told the Post that PM’s remarks are well appreciated but at the same time he should now work to amend the Act of two transitional bodies as per the Supreme Court verdict.
“We had provided eight-point suggestion to the government for the necessary amendment as per the SC verdict and international standards. PM Oli should immediately take the initiative to amend the law,” she said.
The SC in 2015 had directed to make amendments to around a dozen provisions in the Act. It had asked to define torture, extra-judicial killings, rape and forceful disappearances as serious human rights violations which cannot be given amnesty. The current Act is unclear on the issue.
Along with search for truth, action against culprits and reconciliation, reparation is an important component of transitional justice. Thousands of conflict victims are not satisfied with the performance of the two transitional justice bodies.
The government last month extended the terms of both the commissions by a year for the second time.
The TRC has conducted preliminary probe into 1,600 war-era cases, without bringing a closure to a single case in three years since its formation.
Pressed for a sluggish investigation into the war-era cases of human rights violation, the TRC, which has received 62,878 complaints, has set up field offices in all seven provinces to expedite the investigation process.
The Attorney General’s Office is working to amend the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act-2014 in line with the apex court’s verdict of 2015 and international standards.
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