Kathmandu, Aug. 29: The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed its solidarity with
the families of the missing persons.
“We hope for a
comprehensive closure to the Transitional Justice Process in Nepal. This
includes your right to know what has happened to your loved ones,” Head of ICRC
Mission in Kathmandu Andre Paquet said at a programme organised to mark the
International Day of the Disappearance on Wednesday.
He said that the ICRC
had been contributing to the implementation of a humanitarian mechanism in
favour of the conflict-victims although it restricted itself from interfering
in the judicial aspects of the transitional justice process.
Paquet expressed his hope
that the extended timeframe of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and
Commission (TRC) of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) would
bring clarity on the fate of the missing persons.
“We strongly hope that
the commissions will invest every effort to give the conflict-victims
recognition and compensation, as required by the law,” he said.
Noting that the families
of the missing citizens had the right to know the fate of their missing loved
ones, he said that they must not wait any longer.
The ICRC, the Nepal Red Cross Society
(NRCS) and the Nepal Society of Families of the Disappeared and Missing (NEFAD)
marked the International Day of the Disappearance with focus on the right to
know.
The international
humanitarian law requires that authorities take all feasible measures to
account for the missing persons. In that respect, the states are obliged to do
everything possible to provide families with answers on their fate of their
loved ones, said Paquet.
As per the ICRC records
about 1,333 persons are still missing from the conflict time although about 12
years have been passed since the Comprehensive Peace Accord was signed.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 30 August 2018.
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