Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons

More than 1,000 people remain unaccounted for in Nepal following a decade of violence that concluded in 2006, and the circumstances behind their disappearances have yet to be officially investigated. A new official body, the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP), began its work this March and aims to shed light on these abductions. To support this critical mandate, ICTJ hosted an intensive three-week course for the commission, providing CIEDP the technical and operational support necessary to finally tell the truth about Nepal’s disappeared. Conflict raged in Nepal for nearly 10 years beginning in 1996, resulting in the deaths of over 13,000 people and the enforced disappearance of 1,300 more. The Comprehensive Peace Accord, signed in 2006, laid out steps for a transition into peace, aiming to heal the wounds of victims and their families through truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition. Given the widespread use of enforced disappearances, one of the key measures born from this transitional process was the implementation of CIEDP. “During the conflict, enforced disappearances were a systematic violation. It has negatively impacted the lives of victims’ families, especially wives who are still suffering from the repercussions of the disappearance of their loved ones both socially and legally,” said Rim El Gantri, ICTJ Head of Office in Nepal. “Knowing the truth about what happened will help heal the wounds of the Nepali society and be a relief for these families, notably for women, liberating them from the social stigma of being ‘non- declared’ widows.” CIEDP was established in 2015 but did not become operational until March 2016, when the government approved its regulations. According to its mandate, the CIEDP will investigate matters related to the enforced disappearances in order to “find out and record the truth and bring it out for the general public.”