Presenting the commission's action plan at Parliament's Social Justice and Human Rights Committee on Wednesday, Chairman Gurung said that amendment of the CIEDP and TRC (Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons and Truth and Reconciliation Commission) Act would be crucial as the victims and the international community have been raising concern that the Act as it stands is ambiguous, not adequately explained and open to dispute."OHCHR (United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights) has already warned that the UN is unable to provide support for the TRC and CIEDP in their present legal status and this has raised doubts they will accept our final reports prepared in line with existing legal provisions," said Gurung.
"If the commission report is not accepted by the international community, our country also can witness similar interventions from them as Sri Lanka is facing now. Likewise, more Nepalis could face consequences similar to what Colonel Kumar Lama has been facing," he added.
During the House committee meeting, parliamentarians asked the commission to strictly follow its action plan and meet the deadlines set for completing its every action.
Lawmakers criticized the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction over the lack of human resources at the transitional justice mechanisms even a year after their formation.
During the meeting, Peace and Reconstruction Minister Eknath Dhakal expressed the government's commitment to support the transitional justice mechanisms to the fullest and not let any administrative or financial problems get in the way.
Following the discussion with the TRC and ministry officials, the House panel directed the government, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of General Administrative to put in place all the needed legal, physical and administrative infrastructure and make available the required human and budgetary resources to the transitional justice mechanisms. The House committee has also directed the TRC to keep to the deadlines it has set out in its action plan.
At the meeting, TRC Chairman Gurung presented the commission's action plan to the House committee. The ambitious plan has set out an aim of submitting its final report to the government by February 8, 2017. It has also solicited complaints from the victims of the decade-long armed conflict within a period of 60 days starting from April 17.
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