Over 54,000 cases of human rights abuses filed with Nepal's TRC

Nepal's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has received over 54,000 cases of human rights abuses committed during the decade-long civil war in the Himalayan country.

The complaints pertaining to murder, abduction, injuries, rape, arson, torture, and grabbing of land and properties were filed with the transitional justice mechanism, which ended its four-month period for filing of such grievances on Sunday.

Formed in February last year, the commission has a mandate of looking into the conflict-era cases within two years.

Another panel, the Commission on Inquiry of Disappeared People, has received over 3,000 cases.

According to government data, over 13,000 people were killed and some 900 disappeared during the Maoist insurgency in Nepal from 1996 till 2006.

According to both the commissions, these cases were registered by victims of both the State and the Maoist.

Dozens of cases have been registered against top political leaders, including deposed king Gynendra Shah, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior officials of security agencies and others.

Both the commissions will have a seven-month window period to deal with the cases, like establishing the veracity of complaints, recommendation for action or forwarding the cases in a court of law.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Anup Raj Sharma, who is not happy with the powers given to the TRC, on Sunday said that if the victims did not get justice, there will be international intervention.

While political parties and their leaders as well as security agencies favour clemency for wrong-doers, human rights activists maintain that serious human rights abuses cases should be heard in court and those responsible for different crimes should serve jail terms.

Several political leaders, including the Maoists, have raised questions over the efficacy of the TRC process in Nepal, which they say is more oriented towards clemency rather than bringing perpetrators of human rights abuses to justice.

--IANS

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