Reparation no substitute for truth and prosecution, say conflict victims, activists

As the government starts preparing a reparation action plan, the insurgency-era victims and human rights defenders have cautioned not to present reparation as a substitute for other pillars of transitional justice. Eighteen years after the Comprehensive Peace Accord that marked the formal beginning of the peace process, the government has been working on the reparation action plan. Though some relief packages have been provided to a section of victims, there has been no systematic reparation as yet. “We have started preparing the action plan for reparation. It is in a preliminary phase. We plan to complete it in the upcoming fiscal year,” Rajendra Thapa, a joint secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, told the Post. Reparation is an important pillar of transitional justice, along with truth-seeking, prosecution and institutional reforms to ensure non-repetition of violence. While conflict victims and human rights defenders welcome the preparation of the action plan, they have cautioned against projecting reparation as a substitute for other pillars. “The government must provide reparations to thousands of victims who have awaited justice for years,” said Srijana Shrestha, chairperson of the Conflict Victim Women National Network, at an interaction organised jointly by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and...