Human Rights organizations have demanded immediate attention to the serious concerns of the conflict-affected community regarding the selection process of officials for the transitional justice commissions, which have been without officials for a long time. Human Rights organizations including INSEC, Advocacy Forum Nepal, Accountability Watch Committee, Amnesty International Nepal, (JuRI-Nepal, Nepal Human Rights Organization, Legal Aid and Consultancy Center Nepal, Human Rights, and Justice Center Nepal, Voices of Women Media, Collective Campaign for Peace have jointly issued a press release on May 6, demanding immediate attention to the concerns regarding the selection process of officials for the transitional justice commissions.
The joint press release mentions that the conflict-affected community is the primary stakeholder in the transitional justice process. It is a well-established fact that this process cannot succeed unless it is victim-centered. The gathering of 36 organizations, representing the entire victim community, to publicly send a message about not taking ownership of the selection process is not a trivial matter but a serious issue. The release expresses concern over the state’s commitment to establishing a transitional justice system with guarantees of truth, justice, reparation, and non-recurrence as outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, 2006. The process has remained stalled for nearly two decades, which is a cause for concern. The press release also emphasizes that the victim community and civil society have repeatedly pointed out what needs to be done to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of the selection process. Specifically, it highlights that consultations with the victim community must be integrated into the core of the selection process, the criteria and methods for evaluating candidates’ suitability must be clearly defined and made public, objective assessments based on these criteria should be conducted, mandatory background checks must be carried out before preparing the shortlist, and transparency in the presentation should be ensured, including adopting public hearing procedures. Additionally, to ensure the credibility of the process, the law does contain a provision that allows the government to extend the deadline if the two-month time frame is insufficient. Furthermore, the victim community’s trust in the selection process has eroded. This is due to the repeated nomination of the same individuals in the name of appointing officials, the formation of the recommendation committee in the same old manner, and the continuation of outdated and opaque procedures. The process has become more mechanical and ritualistic rather than credible and transparent. There has been a failure to search for suitable individuals. Instead, the focus has been on recommending names based on political power-sharing. It further urges that the warning issued under the leadership and initiative of the victim community regarding the possibility of proposing an alternative citizen-led truth commission should not be underestimated if the current controlled and superficial process continues.
The press release also calls on the Nepal government to address the serious concerns, interests, and issues of the conflict-affected community through meaningful consultation, dialogue, and negotiation. It emphasizes the need to ensure the credibility of the selection process and suggests necessary and appropriate measures. These measures include: 1) Immediately suspending the presentation and publishing a new schedule, 2) Consulting with victims and identifying more suitable candidates for the chairperson and members through the initiative of the committee, including their names in the revised shortlist and publishing it, 3) Ensuring a representative presence of victims, civil society, and media to make the presentation transparent, 4) If time is insufficient, using the powers granted by law to extend the committee’s deadline by removing any obstacles.