Kin of 1200 missing still waiting in agony

KATHMANDU, Aug 30 - Families of more than 1,200 persons gone missing ever since the Maoist insurgency in 1996, are desperately waiting to know the status of their dear ones.

Their pleas for making the status of their dear ones public continues to hit 'deaf' ears of both the government and ...

Although the government and Maoists had, in the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), pledged to form a high-level commission on disappearance, it hasn't happened. However, the recent commitment of three major political parties in their Common Minimum Program (CMP) has raised hope among the families of victims.

Initiatives from various rights organizations and concerned families of disappeared persons have been confined to occasional rallies and press statements.

Marking the International Day of Disappeared Persons (IDDP), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has in a report appealed to the government to immediately take initiative to make public the whereabouts of missing persons. It has also demanded compensation for the families of disappeared persons.

"Making the whereabouts of those forcefully made to disappear during the armed conflict public, providing compensation and relief to victims' families and taking legal action against the guilty are important aspects of transitional justice. But, even 20 months after the CPA, the state has not initiated any concrete step to make the whereabouts of disappeared people public," the report said.

NHRC's latest statistics says the state is responsible for the disappearance of 671 persons, while the Maoists haven't yet made public the status of 299 abducted persons.

Similarly, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Nepal Red Cross Society have published the names of more than 1200 people reported as missing by their relatives between 1996 and 2006.

Meanwhile, rights activists Daman Nath Dhungana and Padma Ratna Tuladhar have appealed to the government to immediately form a high-level commission on disappearance.

In a joint statement, the rights activists expressed serious concern over delay in addressing the issues of disappeared persons.

"Although both the government and Maoists had, in a comprehensive peace accord, agreed to form a commission on disappearance in 60 days, the delay in implementing the pledge has worsened the situation ," the statement said.

The Supreme Court on 1 June 2007 had ordered the government to enact legislation criminalizing disappearances and to establish a Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances that meets international standards.

Similarly, Chief of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) Richard Bennette, said enforced disappearance affects not only persons who have been made to disappear, but also their families and friends who have endured years of uncertainty as to the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

In a statement, Bennette said the legacy of disappearance continues to haunt Nepal's transition to peace and democracy. "It remains imperative to establish the fate of several hundred men, women and children disappeared during the conflict and hold accountable those responsible for the disappearances," he said.

He said it is vital that appropriate action be taken in order to break the cycle of abuse and impunity, to move toward the type of institutional reform necessary to ensure that Nepal does not again see such a pattern of serious human rights violations.

"OHCHR reiterates its encouragement to the Government of Nepal to establish a commission to investigate the fate of the disappeared and hold individuals from both parties to the conflict found responsible for those acts accountable," the statement said.

Bennette said OHCHR stands alongside victims' families and other supporters in seeking recognition and action in relation to victims' rights to truth, justice and reparation.

Likewise, Informal Sector Service Centre (Insec) has urged the government to immediately ratify the international convention on protection of enforced disappeared persons.

Insec, in a press statement, said neither the government nor Maoists have lived up to their past commitment to make public the status of disappeared persons. It has also demanded amendment to the military Act so that those military personnel involved in disappearing people can be tried in civil courts.

It has also appealed to civil society and international community to take immediate initiative to protect the families of those missing persons besides exerting pressure on the concerned authorities to find the missing.

Meanwhile, families of disappeared persons in Nepalgunj of Banke on Friday took out a rally demanding immediate formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The demonstrators handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal through the district administration officer.