Kathmandu, Nov. 21
Citing that the victims of the decade-long
armed conflict and the rest of the country are still awaiting truth, justice,
and reparations, the Advocacy Forum Nepal (AF) has stated that the interim
government must reconsider its strategy regarding transitional justice (TJ).
In its Impunity Report of November 2025, released
on Friday, the AF said that as the country marks the 19th
anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which in November
2006 ended the armed conflict between the security forces and the then Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist), victims and the rest of the country are still waiting
for truth, justice, and reparations.
The recent Gen-Z protests signal how much
people, and especially the younger generation, want accountability and respect
for the rule of law, read the statement.
“Despite strong opposition from victims’
groups and civil society, the interim government has indicated its support for
the current TJ commissions by agreeing to the policies governing the funding of
these bodies,” read the statement. These commissioners were appointed by the
previous government after a flawed selection process, bypassing the victims and
undermining a transparent process. According to AF, many of those appointed
lack expertise and are reported to be close to the mainstream political parties.
The interim government, instead of
reinitiating the selection process, has approved regulations to govern the
commissions’ work and a budget for their activities. “This risks impunity being
further entrenched in our country,” said Bikash Basnet, Executive Director of AF.
“Our system is such that impunity is the norm. We had impunity
before the armed conflict, during the conflict, and ever since. And if the TJ
commissions don’t deliver truth, justice, and reparations, we will continue to
have impunity in the future,” he added.
According to him, a well-executed TJ process is essential to
correcting the course of Nepal’s democratic journey and preventing the
recurrence of violence, as witnessed in the past, including the very recent
past.
The new AF report links the lack of TJ to the root causes behind
the Gen-Z uprising in early September. It unpacks the interwoven threads
between the protests of Gen-Z and those campaigning against past impunity: both
are rejections of arbitrary power by elected representatives.
These are demands for measures that ensure transparency and
accountability, and in both cases, there’s a rejection of political patronage and
capture of public institutions undermining the merit and expertise of
individuals serving those public institutions, said the AF.
It said that there are concerns that the
commission set up by the interim government to investigate what happened on
September 8 and 9 may face the same fate as previous commissions. Although it
collects evidence, interviews members of the security forces, political
parties, and invites them to give evidence, it analyses the chain of command
and the role of security forces, including the Nepal army.
“As seen time and again, the commissions
should not be a vehicle to pacify the call for accountability and to entrench
impunity. It should contribute to ensuring that no one will remain above the
law in the new regime,” read the statement from AF.
The AF report makes a number of
recommendations to the interim government, the international community, and to
any new TJ bodies set up after a fully consultative process. Chiefly among them
are the reconstitution of the TJ bodies after genuine consultation with
victims, the vetting of alleged perpetrators, stopping them from leaving the
country, establishing a comprehensive policy on reparations, and initiating a
public debate around reform of the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Nepal
Army, bureaucracy, and the judiciary.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 November 2025.
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