EU, Australia hail progress on peace process

KATHMANDU, April 24: The European Union, Norway, Switzerland and Australia have welcomed the recent progress on the peace process and hailed the commitment shown by Nepal´s political parties to complete the constitution drafting process on time.



"The new momentum and progress achieved in the high level negotiations on system of governance and a new national government structure for Nepal, including contentious constitutional issues, is encouraging," the countries said in a joint statement on Wednesday. [break]



Expressing hope that current momentum would contribute to complete a new democratic and inclusive constitution, the countries have urged all the political parties to ensure adequate consultation processes in the constitution writing.



The countries have also reiterated their call that the transitional justice mechanisms, currently under discussions among political parties, meet international standards and grant no amnesty for conflict-era human rights abuses.



"...we would like to note that the fight against impunity and adequate investigation and prosecution of conflict-era human rights violations should not be sacrificed to the need of expedient solutions in other areas," they said. "We urge all parties to ensure the transitional justice mechanisms are established with full independence and in compliance with international standards."

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