KATHMANDU, July 2: Dissatisfied with the recent developments in Nepal’s transitional justice process, conflict victims sent a letter to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday.
As Rory Mungoven, the OHCHR’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, arrived in Nepal to assess the country’s human rights situation, representatives of various organizations representing conflict victims sent the letter to the OHCHR headquarters.
While showing interest in Nepal’s transitional justice process, Mungoven met separately with the two commissions and conflict victims. After he advised the victims to move forward by cooperating with the two commissions, the victims sent a letter stating that they do not accept the ongoing process.
Rights activists for conflict victims, including Ram Bhandari, Suman Adhikari, and Geeta Rasaili, have sent a letter to the OHCHR in Geneva. A “white paper” has also been attached to the letter.
In the letter sent to the OHCHR, victims of the conflict and representatives from civil society have expressed dissatisfaction with Nepal’s current transitional justice process. They informed the UN body that they do not accept the two recently formed commissions.
The letter states that the commissions lack legitimacy and independence because civil society and victims were not included in the process. They have demanded a restart of the process with the formation of a transparent, inclusive, and victim-centered mechanism.
Mungoven also met with officials from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) to gather information.
Participants stated that he held discussions on transitional justice and human rights issues. "He also met with us," said conflict victim activist Ram Bhandari. "Since the two commissions have already been formed, he suggested that we support them."
The conflict victims’ activists responded by saying that they remain committed to the principles of international human rights, which they emphasized is also the right of victims. They expressed their views on the execution of transitional justice. Representatives from the OHCHR have been visiting Nepal periodically to assess the overall human rights situation.
The victims’ representatives also told Rory Mungoven that the principles of human rights must not be forgotten. Conflict victims’ activist Suman Adhikari said they communicated via email, reminding the OHCHR of its international obligations. “We have expressed our dissatisfaction over the formation of the commissions, which were established through a politically biased process that violated due legal procedures,” Adhikari said.
Victim representatives have urged the international community not to support the flawed transitional justice process. “We call on development partners to withhold recognition and support from any commission that is not independent, inclusive, and does not involve victims,” the letter stated. “Supporting such bodies promotes impunity and weakens human rights and the rule of law.”
The accompanying ‘white paper’ provides information about the latest developments in the transitional justice process. The letter details the process so far, following the government’s formation of a recommendation committee last December.
The conflict-affected individuals have also informed that they presented various demands to the recommendation committee formed by the government. However, they claim that the formation process was flawed from the start since the committee was composed only of individuals who had previously failed once.
They stated that the ‘white paper’ revealed how leadership positions in the two commissions were appointed through partisan quota sharing. The letter also mentions that they had demanded the recommendation committee disclose the selection criteria and conduct public hearings before recommending officials.
However, the letter states that there was no hearing to recommend candidates acceptable to all. The conflict-affected groups had previously corresponded with the UN regarding transitional justice.