Over 1,300 people still unaccounted for

Kathmandu, Aug 28

Over 1,300 people in connection with the decade-long armed conflict are still unaccounted for, reported the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS).

According to the Updated list 2021, a joint publication of the ICRC and the NRCS, 1,329 people are still missing in connection with the decade-long (1996-2006) internal armed conflict in the country.

The report will be released during an event to be held on Sunday (August 29) to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

ICRC said in a Saturday statement that the ICRC, NRCS and a network of conflict victims’ associations would observe the Day.

“Respecting the safety protocols issued by the government in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be held virtually,” read the statement.

The online event will include speeches from senior leaders of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, representatives of the family associations and family members of missing people.

Representatives from Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons and National Human Rights Commission will also be part of the event.

This list has been published annually since 2007. It will also be available at https://familylinks.icrc.org/nepal which is part of the global Restoring Family Links website.

The website is managed by the ICRC and the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help reconnect families separated due to a conflict, a natural disaster or migration.

Sandesh Shrestha, Head of the ICRC in Nepal, said, “Today our identity in Nepal is related to the transitional justice process, focusing on the families’ right to know what happened to their missing relatives.”

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 August 2021.