Almost two years have passed since the state and the CPN (Maoist) in a written document promised to publicise the status of disappeared citizens within 60 days, yet the whereabouts of at least 970 citizens remain unknown.
According to a report prepared by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Friday, the state is responsible for disappearance of 671 citizens while CPN (Maoist) is responsible for disappearance of 299. During the period of decade-long insurgency, state forces killed at least 142 while Maoists killed 21 people who were taken under their control.
Of all those disappeared (as per the complaints filed at the NHRC), government has publicised the status of 1,427 and the Maoist 739 people.
NHRC said Maoists took citizens under their custody during the insurgency period on charges of spying against them. However, the impunity continues to prevail as the cadres of Maoist sister organisations failed to end the culture of abduction and physical torture even after coming to public.
Speaking with journalists on the occasion of International Day Against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance, Friday, chairman of NHRC Kedar Nath Upadhyaya asked the government to form two commissions – on disappearance and on reconciliation – to ease the investigation process.
He also stressed the need for immediate disbursement of relief support to the families of disappeared citizens.
In its report, NHRC pointed out lack of legal instruments, ignorance of the government to NHRC recommendations, inaccessibility of the victims to appropriate authority for appeal, as the major cause for prolonged disappearance of the citizens.
On the other hand, Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) stated whereabouts of 828 citizens disappeared by the state and 105 by the Maoists still remain unknown.
NHRC and INSEC have recommended the government for ratification of international convention against disappearance to end the culture of enforced disappearance in future.
Meanwhile, Richard Bennett, the chief of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Nepal, has said that it was imperative to establish the fate of several hundred persons disappeared during the conflict and hold accountable those responsible for the disappearances.
"It is also vital that appropriate action be taken in order to break the cycle of abuses and of impunity, to move towards the type of institutional reform necessary to ensure that Nepal does not again see such a pattern of serious human rights violations," Bennett said, speaking at Reporters' Club, Friday.
"We have recently passed the one year anniversary of the important Supreme Court decision on 1 June 2007, in which the Government was ordered to enact legislation criminalising disappearances and to establish a Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances that meets international standards," he recalled.
"This is particularly important to ensure that the Disappearance Commission is regarded as credible, and that its objectives are targeted and reflect community expectations for addressing disappearances. It is, additionally, an opportune time for the Government to consider ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance." nepalnews.com ia Aug 29 08
