Five years since the end of Nepal's brutal civil war between government and Maoist forces, victims are losing patience waiting for truth, justice, and reparation.
The conflict resulted in the disappearance of more than 1,300 people and more than 13,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and an untold number of victims of torture, rape, and other human rights violations.
By signing a Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006, the two sides committed to establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a Commission on Disappearances, and providing reparations to conflict victims and their families. But bills drafted in 2007 establishing the two commissions remain stalled in parliament, delaying accountability and denying victims the right to know the truth about the fate of their missing loved ones.
A government scheme to provide monetary relief to victims through an Interim Relief Program has been welcomed as a much needed temporary measure. But victims have the right to a reparations program that extends beyond provisional humanitarian aid and includes rehabilitation, restitution, and the guarantee that abuses do not recur in the future.
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Last year ICTJ completed a six month research project to analyze the effects of the Interim Relief Program and determine the steps still required for Nepal to fulfill its obligation to provide reparations to victims of the civil war. From September 2010 to February 2011, we conducted extensive interviews with victims; focus group discussions; and workshops with government representatives, political parties, and civil society in 18 different districts. |
The findings have been published in a report titled “From Relief to Reparations: Listening to the Voices of Victims.”
The report finds the Interim Relief Program treats victims unequally, excluding those who experienced torture or sexual abuse, arbitrarily determining compensation for disability as a result of conflict, and excluding “invisible disability” such as psychological trauma. Persistent lack of funding for the program has also limited its effectiveness, and the use of lump sum payments means funds are rarely used for their intended purpose, spent instead on household expenses or for paying off debt.
Victims voiced confusion and disappointment with the program. "The rejection by the state today is even harder to tolerate than the physical assaults and torture that we endured during the conflict period,” a victim of torture commented. “How long can we remain in this state of victimization is the question today. If our patience runs out, then the state will have to pay a high cost."
Photo: Kathmandu, Nepal: Relatives hold photographs of their loved ones who disappeared while in custody of the government or Maoist forces during a demonstration demanding the government make public the whereabouts those missing. DEVENDRA M SINGH/AFP/Getty Images.
