KATHMANDU, March 26: A Cabinet meeting on Monday formed a five-member committee to recommend members of the Transitional Justice bodies.

The committee, headed by former chief justice Om Prakash Mishra, is mandated to recommend members of the TJ bodies .

The chief of the National Human Rights Commission will be ex-officio member of the recommendations committee and three more members will be government representatives.

Legally, it is mandatory to form a five-member recommendations committee headed by a former chief justice, in order to appoint members of the TJ bodies.

Although the government extended the terms of the two TJ bodies—Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Person—by a year in February, the terms of the commission members were extended only for three months. These terms expiring in mid-April.

The terms were extended by three months in February as part of an understanding among the parties to reshuffle the TJ bodies after accusing these of failing to deliver.

Following disagreement with the government, TRC head Surya Kiran Gurung and member Lila Udasi have already resigned from their positions. The remaining three members are also awaiting the expiry of their terms . The CIEDP members for their part are preparing to submit a progress report before their terms expire.

Established in early 2015, the commissions have registered over 63,000 complaints on rights violations during the decade of the Maoist armed insurgency. But justice for the conflict victims remains elusive and the commissions and the government are in a blame game.

 
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