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The importance of an independent, representative, and competent truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) to guarantee the rights of victims to truth, justice, and reparations should not be underestimated. Key recommendations in this regard are included in this briefing.

The framework of transitional justice, originally devised to facilitate reconciliation in countries undergoing transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, is increasingly used to respond to certain types of human rights violations against indigenous peoples -- even in cases where ...

Gender-based violence, including sexual violence was a common feature of the 10-year-long armed conflict between the security forces and the Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist (CPN-M), yet few individual incidents were reported.

In April 2008 historic elections to Nepal’s Constituent Assembly led to a political watershed: former Maoist guerrillas surprised everyone by coming out ahead, suggesting that a new era had come to Nepal. In its first sitting, the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a republic and bro...

In 1996, six years after Nepal replaced its absolute monarchy with multi-party democracy, Maoist rebels launched an armed struggle that led to an estimated 13,000 deaths over the next decade. In November 2006 the rebels and government made peace, paving the way for the abolition of th...

Treatment of historical legacies of discrimination against Aboriginal groups in Canada (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) currently focuses on settlement for abuses committed against Aboriginal children in educational institutions known as “Indian Residential Schools” (IRSs), which pursued...

As the first national truth commission to be created in an established democracy, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a bold experiment. It is also the first TRC to focus exclusively on crimes committed against children and indigenous groups.

Indigenous populations throughout the world are widely recognized as groups affected by political and economic marginalization. Countries that have used truth commissions to examine patterns of exclusion—including Chile, Guatemala and Peru—have found clear links between racism, politi...

ICTJ hosted a meeting, “Peace and Justice in Asia,” with a particular focus on Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Nepal, on December 2-3, 2008. The two-day conference brought together senior experts, officials, and community leaders from three distinct areas that have suffered conflict in In...

This report arises out of a perceived opening or window of opportunity for transitional justice intervention around the specific gross human rights violation of enforced disappearances and abductions in Nepal. This issue connects powerfully to several dominant concerns within the tran...