Nepal's National Assembly on August 22 unanimously endorsed the bill to amend the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act amid reservations from a section of the conflict victims, and national and international human rights watchdogs.
A group of victims and human rights activists and organizations, while welcoming several progressive provisions in the bill, had been demanding revisions in the flawed provisions. However, their appeal went unheard as the upper chamber passed the bill without going into the revision process.
Critics of the bill are particularly concerned with the provision of reducing 75 percent sentencing even in serious violations of human rights. It allows the attorney general to lodge the case demanding just 25 percent of action as per the existing law.
“It is inappropriate to give sweeping authority to the attorney general to reduce the sentencing while filing cases,” Surya Dhungel, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, told the Post.
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