Kathmandu: As many as five conflict victim organizations have asked the visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to allocate time for a meeting with them while in Nepal. Issuing a statement on Monday, Rupesh Shah, chair of Nepal Society of Families of Disappeared and Missing in Nepal, Surendra KC, chair of National Network of Disabled Conflict Victims, Srijana Singh, chair of Conflict Victim Women National Network, Gopal Shah, chair of Conflict Victims National Alliance, and Kalyan Budhathoki, acting chair of Conflict Victims Common Platform, have expressed a concern that the victims of Nepal’s decade-long conflict have not been included in the itinerary of UN chief.
“We are happy that Nepal’s peace process and transitional justice form a prominent part of your current visit’s agenda. We have been gratified by your public call for our transitional justice process to follow precepts of international humanitarian law, judgments of Nepal’s Supreme Court and the needs of conflict victims,” the statement says. “However, we are distressed that we, the victims of Nepal’s decade-long conflict, have not been included in your itinerary. As far as the peace process is concerned, we note that your scheduled meetings have been with leaders of the former warring sides but not citizens who were victimized by actions of the state on the one hand, and the rebels on the other.”
The victim organizations have requested the UN chief to manage time to hold a meeting with their representatives before he wraps his Nepal trip. “We request you to find time for a meeting so that victim representatives may share with your our collective pain, experience of the TJ process thus far, our efforts for credible TJ process and suggestions.”
“Nepal’s peace process has the possibility of succeeding where so many others have failed, and stand as an example for post-conflict societies. For this, it is important to ensure success of the Nepali process, with immediate provision of reparation to victims, and a principled truth, justice, reparation and reconciliation process that includes accountability of heinous crimes,” the statement further says.
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