On December 10 the Asian Human Rights Commission published its 2011 annual report in which it expressed concern that in 2011 the most pressing issues relating to the rights of conflict victims remained in abeyance. In particular, the government has failed to honour its commitment to adopt a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances, abiding by internationally accepted human rights law and standards.
The AHRC has repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the unnecessary delays in the adoption of this much-needed legislation and attempts by the political parties to empty the bills of their meaning. At the moment, the final shape of the bills remains unknown as a final decision has not been reached on key issues. Nepali civil society and the international community are concerned that the watered down bills may prevent the perpetrators from being held accountable and being prosecuted.
The current government has repeatedly emphasized that the commissions should focus on “reconciliation” rather than “justice” and stated publicly that “opening old wounds” would be detrimental to the peace process.
The AHRC stands firm on the belief that justice, accountability and concerns for the victims’ rights are an integral part of a long-lasting and solid peace process, not an obstacle. The government should not make the mistake of believing that the purpose of the transitional justice institutions is to provide amnesty to the perpetrators. The primary purpose of the transitional justice institutions is to uphold two fundamental rights, in both their collective and individual dimensions: the right to justice — including the right to legal redress for the victims — and the right to the truth. Only if those two rights are guaranteed, can the Nepal government give its people credible guarantees of non-repetition and the country can envision a stable and peaceful future.
This entails that those commissions should be vested with the power to recommend prosecutions and that the bills should prohibit amnesty for violations of human rights and humanitarian law. The AHRC wishes to voice its concern about the frequent government declarations quoted above which indicate a willingness to weaken those two important elements.
A letter by the European Union sent last week to the political parties of Nepal showed the same concern “We are concerned that the bills establishing the two commissions may be significantly weakened in a way that may prolong impunity and put Nepal in breach of its international obligations”
Conflict victims and their families have fought restlessly for five years to know the truth about the violations which affected them and to see the perpetrators brought before a court of justice. For five years, they were promised that the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission on Disappearances would uphold their rights to redress and were asked to wait while the formation of those commissions was continuously delayed. If the bills do not allow for prosecutions of the perpetrators, those commissions could be further entrenching the denial of justice they have been facing for five years. This is unacceptable and would be a failure of the peace process.
The transitional justice advocacy group has established standards that those commissions should respect to uphold the rights of the victims to justice and legal redress, you can access them here.
The AHRC calls upon Nepalese government and all of Nepal political parties to put concerns for the victims’ rights at the heart of the transitional justice institutions. They should reject any to include amnesty provisions for human rights violations in the bills and ensure that the bills allow for prosecutions. The strength of Nepal’s democracy will be measured by its ability to provide justice to those victims.
