HRW says Nepal's commission bill is flawed

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch said Nepal’s draft bill on a commission to look into abuses during Maoist rebellion may deny justice to the victims.

In a news release, Human Rights Watch said the draft bill’s provisions on amnesty and the commission’s independence from the government don't meet international legal standards.

The proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission would look into violations of human rights and crimes against humanity committed during the 1996-2006 battle between forces of the Himalayan kingdom’s government and Maoist rebels. Some 12,000 people reportedly died in the conflict. There were also more than 2,000 cases of "disappearances" allegedly committed by government forces and Maoist rebels.

Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said the proposal threatens to deny victims of the conflict their rights to truth, justice and reparation because the commission’s mandate wouldn't address violations of international humanitarian law.

“Thousands of (Nepalese) were killed or forcibly disappeared in the civil war and their families have rights to truth, justice and reparation,” said Human Rights Watch’s Sophie Richardson. “But instead of delivering truth and justice, this draft bill could be used to let perpetrators off the hook.”