Political Parties have become The Vehicle to Sustain Impunity: Pyakurel
How do you assess the current HR situation of the country? Are you satisfied with the existing situation?
The parameter of being satisfied with the HR situation is always contextual. It depends upon the context and the time factor in which some human rights such as civil and political rights are more important in a dictatorial regime similar to non-derogable rights in a situation of emergency.
After the twelve years of the violent armed conflict, the Government and the ex-rebel, CPN (Maoist) signed the comprehensive peace accord. The enactment of the interim constitution has ensured human rights as the fundamental principle of the political and governance system. Above all, Nepal has already ratified the core human rights conventions/treaties that guarantee rule of law as the prime responsibility of the state.
While examining the HR situation from the above mentioned parameters, it is well-known fact that we are in a situation of transition which requires to address the past human rights violations and abuses on the basis of the transitional justice principle. Three years have already passed, however, the victims family such as those of killed (13,000) or disappeared have been waiting for justice. Not even a single accused perpetrator has been brought to justice. And the victims reparation is a subject of ignorance to the mainstreaming peace process.
Similarly, the rule of law is continuously being challenged by the old and the newly emerged armed groups. The culture of impunity has been deeply rooted. The state delivery system has proved to be ineffective. The serious matter is that the government is not serious enough to tackle the above mentioned HR challenges. In this context, the HR communities including the national institution such as the NHRC have more challenging tasks.
There has been a growing concern about the issue of impunity and many argue that it is due to the lack of accountability. What is your opinion about this view?
As mentioned above, there is no serious effort to address the causes of past human rights violations. The transitional justice mechanism also seems ineffective to combat the systematic culture of impunity. The culture of impunity is the byproduct of non-accountability. Thus, the problem of accountability emerges as the major threats to deal with impunity.
What are the major challenges for ensuring accountability on the part of the government and the political parties?
The political parties are the prime movers of the society. The nature of the government is always determined by the very behavior of the political parties. However, in our context, it is sad to say that the political parties have become the vehicle to sustain impunity.
Do you think the civil society organizations and media have been playing satisfactory role to make the state accountable?
We must understand that civil society is not an agency that can held perpetrators accountable. It can only create awareness and mobilize the public opinion for the accountability at the same time create pressure to the concerned authorities. However, it cant enforce the law by itself. Relatively, the civil society in Nepal is vibrant in comparison to the other South Asian countries. But because of the apathy from the political parties, its voice for justice goes unheard.
What would be the implications on amending the constitution drafting schedule time and again? Would not such postponement affect in drafting the constitution with consultations and participation of wider sections of the populace?
Any effort to extend the tenure of the Constitutional Assembly is unconstitutional. The Interim Constitution has clearly given mandate to enact the new Constitution within two year. There is no question of extension beyond the mandate. Only in a situation of emergency, it can be extended for the maximum of six months. Declaring an emergency is not a prerogative either for the government or legislature. It must be rational. The current CA or the legislature does not have the authority to extend the tenure on a very subjective ground.
There has been debate among national human rights organizations and UNWFP about the quality of food distributed in Mid and Far Western Regions? In your opinion what should be role of the government as well as civil society organizations about it?
A right to food is a basic human right of the people. This right can be ensured through the quality of food. The food distributed in some districts of Mid and Far-Western regions was found substandard. Government has set the minimum standard of food. Distributing the date-expired food is a serious crime and a subject to punishment. How can the Government be silent when the UN agency provides such rotten food to the people? It shows how the government is irresponsible to its people. It fails to make accountable to the WFP which is a kind of immunity. This is a way of encouraging impunity. The civil society has done a lot within their limit to expose the issue and create awareness among the people to fight against this culture of impunity. INSEC stands in the front to raise this issue. The consumer society has also raised the issue loudly.
The UN system should uphold the principle of human rights and the Government is bound to protect the rights. However, in this case, the UN and the Government both have violated their own responsibility. One should be clear that the food has not been given free of cost as it has been exchanged with the labor of the people.
What should be done to make the new constitution human rights friendly constitution?
To make a human rights friendly constitution, the universally accepted principal of human rights should be enshrined in the constitution.