How is ICRC working on the status of the disappeared in partnership with government bodies?

We collected a certain number of complaints on disappearance at the time of conflict. We managed to clarify the fate of some while there are families who still do not have a single clue. We try to be more systematic in consolidating and collecting as much information as possible. Throughout these years, we also engaged with Nepali authorities and both parties of the conflict – Nepal Army, Police and Maoist combatants because people were held captive by either side. We tried finding whereabouts of those people held captive by both sides. We also try to focus on the needs of families of the disappeared, not for protection but for supporting them.

 

Do you see the possibility of knowing the whereabouts of the missing people now, after almost eight years since the end of armed conflict?

The hope of finding someone still alive is very slim. But, as long as you don’t have confirmation by anyone, there are legal complications. If a person is not here and the person is not confirmed dead, there is no legal provision in Nepal for recognition of the missing person, including those missing in a natural calamity. According to the law, it is only after 12 years of a person being missing that you can consider the person as dead and begin legal procedures such as inheritance and transfer of properties.

 

Do you think that such provisions must be amended?

This is something we are now looking into because we want to go deeper in understanding the legal needs of these families. So, we have commissioned a study and based on that report, we might make some recommendations to the government of Nepal via the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction about this legal framework either by decreasing the 12 years term or by making a provision for declaration of absence. This provision that exists in other countries to acknowledge somebody’s absence for years gives the relatives a kind of recognition to carry on with the legal proceedings.

 

Some political leaders have been insisting not to revive conflict-era cases. What is your take on it?

Nepal at some point will have to come to terms with what has been done in the past. A fact finding commission has to be put in place at some point, also to avoid similar incidents in the future. We are more concerned at the time being for the families of the disappeared rather than right to justice. Justice needs to come at some point but for us, what matters is to foster a secure environment where people who have information regarding the fate of disappeared individuals can reveal it without fearing prosecution. Criminal proceedings must come but we must also think about how to create an environment for people to provide information that is much needed.