Two decades on, conflict-era victims still await justice

ROLPA, June 19: As the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, survivors of conflict-era sexual violence in Nepal continue to wait for justice and reparations nearly two decades after the peace process began.

More than 66,000 complaints remain pending with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP). These include 314 long-standing complaints repeatedly filed in the past and 3,912 cases of sexual violence registered last year. Survivors have expressed growing fears that the confidentiality of their complaints may be compromised.

Despite the scale of unresolved cases, transitional justice has failed to receive adequate priority from the state, leaving thousands of victims without justice or reparations.

While TRC Secretary Nirmala Adhikari and CIEDP Secretary Dhruva Kumar Chauhan participated in a panel discussion at Nepal Academy Hall in Kathmandu, the funeral pyre of a woman who had survived gang rape during the Maoist insurgency was burning in a remote village in Rolpa. She endured severe trauma and died without ever receiving justice. Many other survivors and their families have similarly passed away without reparations.

At the Second National Memory Conference held recently in Kathmandu, survivors of sexual violence sat quietly, feeling their concerns had once again been sidelined. Although conflict victims such as Maina Karki, Suman Adhikari, Dr. Ram Kumar Bhandari, Gita Rasaili, and Sushila Chaudhary raised issues, the experiences of sexual violence survivors remained largely overlooked.

“Other victims can at least speak out, and some have received a little relief. But we are people who are dying a little every day. We can neither raise our voices nor can others truly understand our suffering,” one survivor said softly. “In our society, it is not the perpetrator but the survivor who is often treated as guilty.”

The two-day conference, organised by nearly two dozen organisations working on conflict victims’ rights, featured extensive discussions on transitional justice. Participants repeatedly asked the same question: “Where is justice?”

Speakers including senior journalist Mohan Mainali, Civic Voice head Dr. Susan Risal, conflict victim representative Dr. Ram Kumar Bhandari, and archivist Nayan Tara Gurung stressed that memory and transitional justice must be approached with sensitivity. More than 150 participants issued a 13-point declaration urging the government to take meaningful steps toward justice and reparations.

The declaration emphasised that memory is an essential component of social justice, warning that failure to document diverse experiences risks creating a one-sided historical narrative.

Repeated changes in commissioners and the inability of government-formed commissions to function effectively have deepened survivors’ distrust. With complaints held under the custody of government officials and security agencies, many fear their personal information is at risk.

“The government formed commissions, asked us to file complaints, and we did. Now our complaints have been left in the hands of officials, which has only increased our distrust,” one survivor said.

Devi Khadka, founder of Aparajita, an organisation representing survivors of conflict-era sexual violence, told Republica she remains hopeful. “Previous governments and commissions failed to work in favour of victims. But we have high expectations from this government,” she said, adding that she believes the transitional justice commissions will soon become fully functional.