Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF) and Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) jointly organized a workshop on Enforced Disappearance in Asia on 27 and 28 May 2019 at Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur Nepal. The main objectives of the program were to shed light on the best practices, challenges and existing remedies of various countries, the effort of the government in addressing the cases of enforced disappearance and strategies to combat enforced disappearances.
The program was primarily attended by victims of enforced disappearance from countries around the globe, victim family from Nepal, human rights activists, stakeholders, government representatives, representatives of human rights organization and civil societies among others. The module of the program was a panel discussion followed by an open discussion session. The panel had a diverse range of discussion topics that includes the regional and global context of the Disappearances, the government commitment in search of the disappeared persons, the stance of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nepal and its commitment to the cases of enforced disappearance, experience sharing by victims of enforced disappearance and human rights organizations from various countries and the discussion on Guiding Principles for the Search for Disappeared Person approved by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance. The program had a group discussion on the different provisions and principles and suggestions were sought how the guiding principles are best used in the different context in search of the disappeared persons.
During the program, the speakers and the participants reiterated that enforced disappearance in Nepal did not begin with the civil war; the trend was always there. Both the speakers and the victims shared their concern regarding deepening culture of impunity and the consequences it has on the victim families and also stressed that the verdict of Supreme Court of Nepal, 2015 should be followed. The participants unanimously expressed that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) should be re-formed only after necessary amendments of the laws and that these commissions should be free from political interference so that their mandates can be fulfilled. The panel, as well as the representatives of various human rights institutions and victims, urged the Government of Nepal to ratify the Convention for Protection of All People from Enforced Disappearance so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice and future commission of such grave human rights violations can be prevented.
For further details, please find the enclosed press statement in English and Nepali.
