Nepal forms transitional justice mechanisms

The Nepal government has finally formed two much-awaited transitional justice mechanisms to look after the war-time human rights cases and provide justice to the victims, a Nepalese minister told Xinhua news agency in Kathmandu Tuesday.

A meeting of the council of ministers of the Nepal government formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearance (CEED) Tuesday, Minister for Law and Justice Narahari Acharya said.

The commissions were formed after six years of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) which ended a 10-year civil war in Nepal, though the then rebel Maoists and the then government had agreed to form such commissions within six months after signing the CPA.

The meeting of the council of ministers endorsed the names of office-bearers for both commissions as recommended by a five-member government panel headed by former chief justice of Nepal's Supreme Court, Om Bhakta Shrestha.

Nepal's former ambassador to Russia Surya Kiran Gurung and former chief judge of the Appellate Court Lokendra Mallik have been appointed as chairmen of the TRC and CEED, respectively.

"The commissions have two years of tenure each, and if the commissions failed to complete their work within the stipulated deadline, another year can be extended," said Minister Acharya.

The commissions are mandated to probe into all crimes and cases of human rights abuses committed by both the Maoists and the state forces during the 10-year insurgency.

The war that started in 1996 claimed more than 13,000 lives while thousands are still missing.