The families of the disappeared in Nepal are calling for both the government and the Maoist rebels to keep promises made in the recent peace agreement to find the victims of the disappearances and punish the perpetrators.
In November, the Maoists and the interim government of seven national parties signed a peace agreement finally putting an end to 10 years of violent conflict. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) the fighting claimed over 14,000 lives, internally displaced over 200,000 and led to the forced disappearance of nearly 2,000 people.
The peace agreement states that, together, the Maoists and the government will try to find the victims in the coming three months. But rights activists are concerned that neither side will be able to find all the disappeared. They are also worried that the question of impunity will not be addressed.
“We will take to the streets against all the seven parties and the Maoists if they fail to implement their plan,” said Sharmila Tripathi, whose young son Bipin disappeared nearly six years ago after he was arrested by the security forces for allegedly working as a Maoist militant.
“In addition, those killed after severe torture must be found and the perpetrators punished severely,” added Tripathi, a member of the Society of the Families of the Disappeared.
There are still no accurate numbers of Nepalese disappeared at the hands of the Maoists and the state. The NHRC figure of over 2,000 refers to the period since 2001 when peace talks broke down. But the Society of the Families of the Disappeared puts the number at over 5,000.
“Whatever the number, the Maoists and the state have to ensure that the peace agreement is effectively implemented so that justice is served to the families,” said NHRC protection officer Shyam Babu Kafle.
One major area of concern is punishment with relatives fearing that those who committed the crimes will escape with impunity.
The peace agreement has a provision for setting up truth commissions to stand the perpetrators on trial and confess their crimes in front of their victims who will then forgive them.
“But the accused soldiers and Maoists who were involved in severely torturing detainees, raping girls and killing their abductees should not escape harsh state penalty in any way,” said activist Shoba Gautam from the Institute of Human Rights and Communication Nepal (IHRICON).
“The issue of punishing those people for past violations has not been addressed at all,” said activist Prekshya Ojha from local rights group, Insec. Several activists like Gautam and Ojha are worried that the Maoist leaders and the government have not yet addressed impunity in the agreement as was expected by victims, activists and especially lawyers who had been fighting to address the question over the years.
“We do not want the bloody history of Nepal to be repeated again by the culture of impunity,” said prominent rights lawyer Mandira Sharma from Advocacy Forum, which is one of the main NGOs in Nepal fighting for justice against those involved in extrajudicial killings.
“We have to ensure that no perpetrator walks scot-free and they better be scared because we are not going to stop until justice is served for the victims by penalising the perpetrators,” added Sharma, who recently received this year’s Human Rights Watch Global Award.
nn/sc/jl
In November, the Maoists and the interim government of seven national parties signed a peace agreement finally putting an end to 10 years of violent conflict. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) the fighting claimed over 14,000 lives, internally displaced over 200,000 and led to the forced disappearance of nearly 2,000 people.
The peace agreement states that, together, the Maoists and the government will try to find the victims in the coming three months. But rights activists are concerned that neither side will be able to find all the disappeared. They are also worried that the question of impunity will not be addressed.
“We will take to the streets against all the seven parties and the Maoists if they fail to implement their plan,” said Sharmila Tripathi, whose young son Bipin disappeared nearly six years ago after he was arrested by the security forces for allegedly working as a Maoist militant.
“In addition, those killed after severe torture must be found and the perpetrators punished severely,” added Tripathi, a member of the Society of the Families of the Disappeared.
There are still no accurate numbers of Nepalese disappeared at the hands of the Maoists and the state. The NHRC figure of over 2,000 refers to the period since 2001 when peace talks broke down. But the Society of the Families of the Disappeared puts the number at over 5,000.
“Whatever the number, the Maoists and the state have to ensure that the peace agreement is effectively implemented so that justice is served to the families,” said NHRC protection officer Shyam Babu Kafle.
One major area of concern is punishment with relatives fearing that those who committed the crimes will escape with impunity.
The peace agreement has a provision for setting up truth commissions to stand the perpetrators on trial and confess their crimes in front of their victims who will then forgive them.
“But the accused soldiers and Maoists who were involved in severely torturing detainees, raping girls and killing their abductees should not escape harsh state penalty in any way,” said activist Shoba Gautam from the Institute of Human Rights and Communication Nepal (IHRICON).
“The issue of punishing those people for past violations has not been addressed at all,” said activist Prekshya Ojha from local rights group, Insec. Several activists like Gautam and Ojha are worried that the Maoist leaders and the government have not yet addressed impunity in the agreement as was expected by victims, activists and especially lawyers who had been fighting to address the question over the years.
“We do not want the bloody history of Nepal to be repeated again by the culture of impunity,” said prominent rights lawyer Mandira Sharma from Advocacy Forum, which is one of the main NGOs in Nepal fighting for justice against those involved in extrajudicial killings.
“We have to ensure that no perpetrator walks scot-free and they better be scared because we are not going to stop until justice is served for the victims by penalising the perpetrators,” added Sharma, who recently received this year’s Human Rights Watch Global Award.
nn/sc/jl
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
Share this article
