Don’t keep CPA lingering

The Himalayan Times

25 November 2021

Don’t keep CPA lingering

The government under the premiership of late Girija Prasad Koirala and Prachanda, the Supremo of the then Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, had signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in November 2006, with the intention of bringing the decade-long-violent conflict to an end. In fact, it was a commitment to ending impunity for the significant number of human rights violations perpetrated during the conflict. In particular, by refusing to grant amnesties to perpetrators of human rights abuses and by agreeing to impartial investigations of alleged human rights crimes, Nepal seemed willing to embrace globally accepted anti-impunity and accountability norms. However, the successive governments failed to materialize it.

 The victims of the Maoist insurgency continue to immensely suffer from not having any justice even after 15 years of CPA, despite the efforts of the international community and local human rights activists to complete the peace process as per the CPA. It looks as if all the incumbent governments and the political forces are just buying time, hoping that the whole issue of justice for the victims will fade away over time. A number of victims have even passed away during the years waiting for the justice “Illusive justice” (THT, November 23, Page 4).

All the governments have continued to ignore the Supreme Court’s order of February 2015 to scrap the TRC’s power to grant amnesty to the perpetrators of grave human rights violations during the insurgency as outlined in the transitional justice mechanism. It is unlikely to see the victims receiving justice in near future until the Maoist leaders are in or around the government “Peace process far from complete: Dahal” (THT, November 23, Page 2). Not a single person alleged to have committed serious human rights violations during the insurgency has been brought to justice. It has been a high time for the government to become serious and sincere to amend the commission’s power as per the SC’s order, lawfully punish the perpetrators and end the peace process giving justice to the conflict victims.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj

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