KATHMANDU: Today marks the 17th anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed after a decade-long armed conflict led by the Maoists in Nepal.
On November 21, 2006, the CPA was signed between then-Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Chairman of CPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ ending the decade-long armed insurgency.
While the CPA led to significant political changes, including the successful management of weapons and Maoist combatants, justice for the conflict’s direct victims remains elusive.
As per the CPA, the government established the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappearance Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on February 10, 2015, with the goal of uncovering the truth behind crimes against humanity and ensuring accountability to maintain societal peace amid the aftermath of the armed conflict.
Despite eight and a half years passing since the government’s agreement with the warring parties, the work of transitional justice remains incomplete.
The Commission of Inquiry on Disappeared Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, have both lacked officials since July 1, 2079.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has received 63,718 complaints, while 237 out of 3,243 complaints have been forwarded to the Commission of Inquiry on Disappeared Persons, as they are related to the former.
The Commission is currently conducting a detailed investigation into 2,496 complaints, revealing that 2,513 people have been reported missing, according to the Commission’s statistics.
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