Go for independent justice panels, Nepal told

Nepal should ensure more victim participation and improve transparency while selecting candidates for two independent panels on the country's decade-long conflict, eight local and international human rights groups and conflict-era victims groups said Friday.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, the groups said the government should bring the scope of the amnesty powers vested in the commissions in line with international standards.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances are being established under a 2014 law, the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act, 2071 (TRC Act).

"A consultative and transparent process for selecting commissioners is critical if the commissions are going to win the trust of conflict-era survivors as well as local and international observers," the rights groups said.

"The TRC Act is fundamentally flawed, and the government should take these steps to ensure that this important exercise in transitional justice remedies the flaws."