Form separate commissions on transitional justice: SC

KATHMANDU, JAN 02 - 

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ordered the government to form two separate commissions of inquiry on truth and reconciliation and enforced disappearances.

A special bench of SC justices Kalyan Shrestha, Girish Chandra Lal, Sushil Karki issued the order to form separate commissions on truth and reconciliation and disappearances in consistence with international standards.

The apex court was responding to a writ filed by attorney Madhav Kumar Basnet, among others, against the proposed ordinance on the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances that had the provision of amnesty to serious crimes committed during the decade-long conflict.

The 72-page long verdict of the court has paved the way for the formation of commissions. The formation of such commissions— transitional justice mechanism —will rekindle hopes of settling the debate over the long overdue but a major task of the peace process.

Although political parties had agreed seven years ago to formulate transitional justice mechanism s to address human rights violations committed during the conflict period, nothing substantial has been done so far to the heal the wounds of the kin of those disappeared.

Earlier in April 2013, a single bench of Justice Sushila Karki had issued a stay order against the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) ordinance, arguing that some of its provisions contradicted the Interim Constitution.