Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire had released the Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2023 published by Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) amidst a function in Kathmandu last week. Addressing on the occasion he emphasized the need for the Government to complete the peace process initiated after the end of the decade-long civil war. He commented that the government has not prioritized the tasks of the Commission for Investigation of the Disappeared Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Ghimire said that the term of both the commissions will expire before they have completed their work and the process of extension is going on. However, the government has not formulated a concrete program by reestablishing the commissions as a concrete body to accommodate the peace process.
Before the recent extension of the terms, on 14 October 2022, the Council of Ministers led by the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had extended the term of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Disappearance Investigation Commission, and its officials by one year, 16 July 2021. The Speaker Criticised the government on the fact that although the term has been extended twice in a short period, both commissions are still without officials. He further mentioned that the parliament has yet to enact various laws, and untimely formulation of legal acts has burdened the judiciary.
INSEC Founding Chairperson, Sushil Pyakurel, expressed his concerns over the rising incidents regarding violence and killing of women and children by family members. He pointed out the need for the state’s accountability towards the cases documented in the Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2023.
At the ceremony, INSEC released the statistics that showed 7,376 victims of human rights violations and atrocities in 2022.
Norwegian Ambassador Torun Daramdal mentioned the need for cooperation of the government with civil society and the private sector for the protection and promotion of human rights and emphasized that there should be joint initiatives to end violence and achieve sustainable development goals.
Daramdal reviewed the significant cases of human rights violations and abuses. She shared that while analyzing the cases and statistics, a major factor for violence against women was the conservative thinking of society towards women. She pointed out the need for integrated efforts to reduce and end such cases of discrimination and violence.
Sumnima Tuladhar, executive director of CIWIN, mentioned that the Nepal Human Rights Year Book is a primary source of documentation of the human rights situation in Nepal and praised INSEC for raising the issues of many significant incidents in the yearbook and recording comparative statistics. She mentioned that the government is responsible for addressing various factors contributing to violence toward women.
Chairperson of INSEC, Dr Kundan Aryal, recalled that since 1992, INSEC has been documenting and advocating for Human Rights protection in Nepal Human Rights Year Book. The initiation of INSCE continues through the 31st edition of the book.
Dr. Aryal emphasized a need for continuous supervision for clean and fair elections and commented on the government waiver of the fines imposed on candidates who failed to submit their expenditure details to the Election Commission on time and raised questions about human rights and good governance.
INSEC Executive Director Bijayraj Gautam stated that INSEC has been publishing Nepal Human Rights Year Book, every year since 1992. In 2022, the book documented 622 cases of human rights violations, including 50 women and 572 men, and 5,944 cases of human rights abuse with 6,754 victims, including women, 807, and three sexual and gender minorities.
According to the statistics, the highest number of victims of violence against women is 4,228. Gautam informed that, in terms of victims of violence against women, 1,623 were in Lumbini Province, 956 in Sudurpaschim Province, 457 in Province 1, 434 in Bagmati Province, 337 in Gandaki Province, 211 in Karnali Province and 210 in Madhesh Province.