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The Transitional Justice Civil Monitoring Committee of Koshi Province has called for transparency and acceptance in the investigation of enforced disappeared individuals and the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Enforced Disappearances Inquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission. On November 13, it drew attention to the committee at Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, through the District Administration Office, Morang. The committee formed to recommend the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Enforced Disappearances Inquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission published a notice on November 8 as per Section 3(1) of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014, requesting qualified individuals to submit their applications within a week. Somraj Thapa, coordinator of the INSEC Koshi Province Office, said that the letter of attention was submitted through Assistant Chief District Officer Pradip Shah of the District Administration Office, Morang, to the committee formed to recommend the chairperson and members of the commission.

INSEC Koshi Province Office Manohar Kumar Pokhrel said that the letter of attention was submitted by representatives of 13 organizations, including the Transitional Justice Civil Monitoring Committee Koshi Province, led by former Chief Attorney of the Koshi Provincial Government, Chudamani Acharya, and other organizations such as INSEC, Advocacy Forum Nepal, Human Rights and Forum Nepal, NGO Federation, Nepal, CWIN Nepal, Women Human Rights Defenders, WOREC Nepal, Women For Human Rights, single women group, Human Rights Network, Human Rights Alliance, National Network of Families Disappeared and Missing in Nepal, and the Federation of Nepalese Journalist. The letter of attention sent through the District Administration Office requests an extension of the deadline, as the information sought within one week has not received sufficient applications, and there is a low possibility of eligible individuals submitting applications. Expressing optimism that the appointment of the commission will be transparent and acceptable, the monitoring committee has raised questions regarding the process through which a shortlist will be published based on applicants’ submissions, whether the selection process will be transparent, what criteria the recommendation committee will use, and whether there is any plan to conduct a public hearing for the recommended individuals. While receiving the attention letter, Assistant Chief District Officer Shah expressed hope that the demands for resolving the long-term issues of transitional justice would be addressed and stated that the attention letter would be forwarded to the relevant authorities for necessary action. The process of transitional justice has resumed after the important amendments proposed in the Enforced Disappearances Inquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014 were passed by both houses of Parliament and authenticated by the President on August 29, 2024, marking 10 years of the armed conflict and 18 years of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Although 18 years have passed since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on November 21, 2006, between the then rebel and state parties, where it was agreed to reveal the situation of the enforced disappearances within 60 days of the agreement, the issues of public disclosure of the status of the missing and victims, as well as the provision of justice and reparation to the victims’ families, have yet to be fulfilled. Although the government has formed two commissions to resolve transitional justice, over 63,000 complaints remain unresolved due to a lack of political will and a lack of appointments of required positions for the commission. Regarding the resumption of the process of transitional justice by the government, INSEC Founding Chairperson Sushil Pyakurel and the INSEC Secretariat have been alerting the state regarding the issue. Moreover, to establish a qualified and impartial commission, make the commission functional, and bring the transitional justice process to a conclusion while gaining the trust of the people, former Chief Attorney of Koshi Province, Chudamani Acharya, with the INSEC Koshi Province Office Secretariat, has started monitoring the state.

 

INSEC Koshi Province Office