E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, DEC 01 - Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum have jointly called on the government to investigate and prosecute all persons responsible for wartime abuses, such as disappearances and killings.

According to a joint report released on Wednesday by the respective rights bodies, victims of the abuses are still awaiting justice, even after five years of the end of the decade-long armed conflict.

Stating that the alleged perpetrators have been appointed to senior government positions and even sent abroad on United Nations peace-keeping missions, the report recommends that the government make a clear public commitment to not offering amnesties or pardons to serious human rights abusers.

"The families of those killed or disappeared have fought hard to obtain justice, but not a single perpetrator has been successfully prosecuted for serious abuses in a civilian court," reads the report entitled "Adding Insult to Injury: Continued Impunity for War Time Abuses".

The report adds, "There is little sign of serious investigation by the police or compliance with court orders directing the authorities to investigate. Leaders of political parties have publicly discussed withdrawing cases relating to the time of the armed conflict that are currently pending before the courts and handing out pardons and amnesties to members of the army and their Maoist opponents."

The 59-page report also presses the government to stand by its public commitments and international treaty obligations to conduct credible investigations and prosecute those responsible for abuses.

"Accountability for crimes is a precondition for improved governance, justice and the rule of law," said Mandira Sharma, director of Advocacy Forum. "If Nepali authorities continue to collude and evade the obligation to prosecute wartime abuses, sustainable reconciliation will remain a distant dream."

According to the report, the police face intense pressure from senior government officials, political parties and the Nepal Army to obstruct and delay justice. "Without legal reform that would permit effective criminal investigations into past violations and progress in establishing transitional justice mechanisms promised in the peace agreement, perpetrators of human rights violations continue to enjoy impunity," the report reads.

In relation to bringing the hoisting milieu of impunity to an end, the report suggests the government set up a special unit, under the oversight of the Attorney General's Office, to investigate cases implicating the Nepal Army. The report also suggests the government ensure that an effective vetting system is in place for any members of the security forces who are proposed for promotion, overseas UN peacekeeping duties or specialised training abroad.

Meanwhile, Tejashree Thapa, South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said giving amnesties to those responsible for serious abuses would only add insult to injuries of victims of terrible crimes. "With the formation of a new government, now is the time to show Nepalis that this is truly a new era in which the political will exists to hold abusers accountable."

The report also called on the UN human rights office, donors, and other influential international actors to press Nepal to follow through on commitments it made to addressing impunity at the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review in January 2011.

"As things stand, Nepal is in grave breach of its international human rights obligations to hold perpetrators accountable and provide prompt and effective justice to victims of serious international crimes--including torture, rape, extrajudicial executions and disappearances--both during the conflict and since," said Sarah Fulton, international legal officer at REDRESS, and a co-author of the report.

Posted on: 2011-12-01 10:47

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