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On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the National Human Rights Commission, Padam Giri, the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs highlighted the government’s commitment to swiftly address transitional justice issues. He emphasized the government’s priority to conclude the remaining peace process by amending laws and stated that the government has been working to implement the directive orders of the Supreme Court and formulate necessary laws.

Tapa Bahadur Magar, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, stated that only 13.64% of the commission’s recommendations to the government have been fully implemented. He informed that concerning the implementation status of recommendations made by the Commission to the Government of Nepal, 37.23% are partially implemented, and 49.13% are still awaiting implementation. He added that some of the victims have still not received the compensation due to insufficient budget allocation and the absence of a separate funding program. Furthermore, despite their repeated requests to the government to establish a separate fund program for compensation, no action has been taken yet.

Magar recalled that although the Government of Nepal has continuously committed to the full implementation of the Commission’s recommendations, the implementation has not been effective. However, he expressed his belief that implementation work is in progress by pointing out about the establishment of the commission’s recommendation implementation committee within the Prime Minister’s Office.

Chairperson Magar informed that a total of 13,273 complaints have been registered in the Commission since its establishment till now. Among those, 7,885 cases have been decided and recommendations have been made based on 1,555 complaints. It also includes policy recommendations for improving the human rights situation.

Hana Singer, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Nepal, expressed her sadness that even after 18 years since the end of the armed conflict and the start of the peace process, most of the complaints related to the conflicts remain unresolved. Additionally, It is a weakness of the nation that the victim families are still unaware of the condition of their missing family members. She further urged for the swift completion of transitional justice and emphasized that, along with the institutional development of the republic, citizens should experience practical peace and freedom.

Ram Prasad Subedi, Chairperson of the NGO Federation Nepal, mentioned that the government should increase access to resources to strengthen the Human Rights Commission. Additionally, he discussed how the lack of transparency regarding the situation of victims who disappeared over 10 years ago during the conflict has caused more pain for their families.

Similarly, Manoj Duwadi, a member of the Commission said that the Commission is determined in completing the work of transitional justice quickly. He emphasized that effective initiatives from all three levels of government are needed to promote human rights in these communities and regions. This includes monitoring and promoting human rights, climate justice, and freedom of the press and expression.

Dr Gauri Shankarlal Das, former member of the National Human Rights Commission, was felicitated in the anniversary program.

Dipak Prasad Ghimire