Nepal's Parliament Speaker endorses Transitional Justice TJ Bill

Kathmandu, Aug 28 (PTI) Nepal's Parliament Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire Wednesday certified the Transitional Justice (TJ) Bill that seeks to amend the contentious legislation to address the enforced disappearances allegedly perpetrated by state forces that occurred in the Himalayan nation during the 1996-2006 civil war.
    According to sources, the Speaker certified the Commission of Investigation on the Enforced Disappeared Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act (third amendment) Bill, 2081.
     The bill has been endorsed by both houses of the Parliament. The House of Representatives passed it on August 14 and it was followed by the endorsement by the National Assembly on August 22.
    Now, the bill would be sent to the President for authentication before it becomes legally validated for implementation.
    Nepal underwent a civil war from 1996 to 2006, during which gross human rights violations were reported to be committed on a widespread and systematic scale by all parties involved, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and torture. In particular, the widespread practice of enforced disappearances of persons taken under control or arrested by the State forces was documented, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
    At least 17,000 people were killed, including security personnel, during the insurgency.
    A three-party panel, formed to sort out the differences over the amendment to the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, submitted its report to top leaders on August 14.
    After a stalemate on the issues for nearly two decades, three major parties - Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre - had formed a task force comprising Ramesh Lekhak from NC, Janardan Sharma from Maoist Centre and Mahesh Bartaula from UML to sort out the differences.
    On August 1, the panel reached an agreement on contentious issues, clearing the way for the federal Parliament to endorse the much-awaited bill.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)