The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons have remained defunct for two years. Not a single discussion has been held on the amendment bill to the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act since the formation of the new ruling coalition in March. And the committee formed to recommend the office bearers in the two transitional justice commissions has not held a single meeting.

Yet both the transitional justice commissions are getting one more extension. In January, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal administration extended the terms of the Truth Commission and the Disappearances Commission until mid-July. As the Act is yet to be amended, the government is using the authority to remove the difficulties as per the Act’s section 42 to give term extensions to the commissions.

As it is certain that Parliament will not amend the bill in the next three weeks, the government will use the same authority to give one more extension. “The terms of the commissions are expiring soon. They will get an extension using the authority to remove the difficulties,” Man Bahadur Aryal, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, told the Post.

The Cabinet can decide to extend the terms, but the decision must be presented to Parliament within 30 days of its commencement.

As the commissions cannot make any decision other than running day-to-day administration without office bearers, they will remain defunct even as they get a new lease of life.

The two commissions were formed in February 2015 with a two-year deadline to investigate cases of atrocities during the war. But nine years since formation, their terms have been extended for around 10 times without any results.

The two commissions have been paralysed since July 2022 after the government decided to extend their terms without retaining their chairmen and members. Against the government’s claim that the amendment bill would be endorsed by October 2022, which will also open the door for recruiting new office bearers, there has been no progress even in the latest extension.

“What is the point of having commissions that cannot work?” Gopal Shah, chairperson of the Conflict Victims’ National Network, told the Post. “We want an amendment in the Act along with the term extension.”

Despite several attempts, the major political parties have been unable to reach a consensus on the bill, though there has been some progress.

After over a year of discussions, the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has narrowed down the differences in the bill. However, the House panel had been struggling to decide whether to categorise arbitrary killings or all killings except those that occurred in clashes as serious violations of human rights.

It has also been unable to determine what happens in case the victims of human rights violations refuse to reconcile and demand punishment for the perpetrators.

The government has been reiterating that it is committed to expediting the transitional justice process and concluding the remaining task of the peace process without delay. “We are working with a commitment to conclude the transitional justice process as early as possible,” said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs, at a programme in the Capital on Saturday.

However, amendment to the Act, which is a prerequisite for the transitional justice process, is still uncertain.

The House committee has yet to decide when to resume the discussions on the amendment bill. Conflict victims claim that reluctance to discuss the bill is a conscious strategy of the political parties to delay the process. “It is clear that the parties don’t want to conclude the process as their leaders would be dragged in the prosecution,” said Shah. “Their goal is to delay the process for as long as they can.”

Records at the Disappearances Commission show as many as 3,223 complaints of enforced disappearances implicating either security forces or the Maoists have been lodged at the commission. The commission has identified 2,494 cases falling under its jurisdiction for investigation. Similarly, 63,718 complaints have been registered with the Truth Commission.

As parties have agreed to allow an additional three months to file complaints, mainly targeting war-era victims of sexual violence, the number of complaints is sure to increase. Rights advocates say thousands of victims of rape and sexual violence are yet to lodge their complaints at the commissions.

The House committee has agreed to allow four years for the commissions to complete the investigation.