KATHMANDU, Dec 19: Three prominent international human rights organizations have called the top leadership of major political parties including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to ensure an environment conducive for the selection of independent, impartial, competent, diverse and widely accepted leadership for the Transitional Justice (TJ) bodies.
In a joint press statement, Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) have asked them to appoint the heads and other officials of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) in close consultation with victims, survivors and civil society stakeholders. “We also call upon the Prime Minister and all stakeholders to safeguard the national and international legality of this process, as compliance with international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law is essential for the transitional justice outcome,” states the joint statement issued on Tuesday.
This comes a day after the Recommendation Committee formed earlier to pick office bearers of the TJ bodies recommended the government to restart the TJ body officials’ selection process amid the failure to secure consensus among the members of the committee. The two-month period given to the Recommendation Committee to recommend candidates for the TJ bodies ended on Monday without success, and the Committee has recommended that the government form a new Recommendation Committee. The Committee did not publish a definitive list of candidates, which was widely criticized by the opposition and members of civil society.
HR groups urge govt to implement NHRC’s recommendation on human...
The three rights bodies have noted that victims of the Maoist conflict have faced widespread obstacles to justice, adjudication, and reparations since the formal end of the conflict in 2006. These challenges have weakened the rule of law in Nepal and eroded public confidence in state institutions; although the consensus reached between political parties on amending the transitional justice law after 19 long years has raised cautious hopes.
“We have publicly praised this consensus and welcomed the positive provisions in the amended law. Despite the shortcomings in the law, the appointment of competent, impartial, independent, and widely trusted individuals to the commissions will be crucial to ensuring the success of the process,” reads the press statement.
While reiterating that the TJ process should continue to be a Nepali-led process, the three rights bodies have maintained that it is the responsibility of the Government of Nepal to ensure that the TJ process is effective and equitable, providing victims and survivors with access to justice and reparations for the violations and abuses they have endured. “This responsibility flows from the principles and commitments enshrined in Nepal’s Constitution, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Supreme Court rulings, and Nepal’s international human rights treaty obligations,” the statement reads further.
In a press release issued on December 7, 2024, a group of more than two dozen victims and survivors expressed concern that “the list prioritizes individuals with controversial reputations for appointment to key positions, jeopardizing the opportunity to meaningfully resolve the transitional justice process.” They called on the Recommendation Committee to consult individuals left off the shortlist, include their names, and ensure that the selection process is fair, transparent, and competitive. “In our view, this process should aim to select candidates based on their competence in human rights and international humanitarian law, proven independence, and established impartiality, while taking into account gender balance and broad representation of society,” the AI, HRW and ICJ have stated in the statement.
Separately, senior lawyers and human rights activists, including two former members of the National Human Rights Commission, had also criticized the Recommendation Committee for ignoring long-standing demands to appoint qualified and credible individuals trusted by the affected community. While calling for the current shortlist to be scraped and a new and more inclusive process to be initiated, they expressed their “objection” to the shortlist, warning that if the commissions were headed by individuals on the current shortlist, “both commissions would lose credibility,” and “no support from the human rights and conflict-affected communities could be expected.”
“It is natural to expect the work of the Recommendation Committee to meet the standards of independence, impartiality, inclusiveness, transparency and participation. We urge the government to reconsider the current process and form a new committee without further delay, addressing the concerns raised by victims, survivors, Nepali civil society, and international organizations,” added the statement.