In a consultation held by the committee on Friday, the victims cited the verdicts of the Supreme Court that directed the authorities to include both the parties while forming the transitional justice mechanism.

The court issued such an order in a case involving Rajendra Dhakal in June 2007 and regarding the Truth and Reconciliation ordinance in January 2013 to the government to have both the sides on board.

“The committee has already missed a chance of making the working procedure formulation process inclusive and participatory, but we hope it will consider including victims in the commissions,” said Ram Kumar Bhandari, coordinator of the National Victims Alliance.

Almost all of the 15 participants of the programme insisted that the selection of commissioners through an open competition would not guarantee justice. They argued that commissioners should be individuals having gone through the ordeal that the victims have been enduring. “The commissioners are supposed to put balm on the wounds of victims,” said Shanta Bhandari, whose son was disappeared in 1999. She feared that the committee could receive applications from those who were never directly affected by the insurgency. “These members should be able to feel the pain of the thousands of people who have lost their dear ones and waited for justice for ever,” she said.

Devi Prasad Dhungana expressed doubt that the to-be-formed commissions would deliver justice. “The National Human Rights Commission recommended action in numerous cases of violence but they were not honoured. The government flouted the apex court orders,” he said.

Ekraj Bhandari, president of the Family Society of the Disappeared Fighters by the State, pointed that the Maoists, now a political party, are outside the constitution writing process, calling for ensuring their participation in the process.