Advancing Accountability: HRJC’s Strategic Push for National Compliance with the UN Human Rights Obligations

by Salina Kafle- Human Rights Lawyer, Human Rights and Justice Center (HRJC)

On 21 April 2022, the HRJC, in collaboration with a coalition of Nepali human rights organisations, filed a public interest litigation case before the Supreme Court of Nepal. The petition seeks the establishment of a robust national legislative mechanism to ensure Nepal’s compliance with its reporting obligations under international treaties. The proposed mechanism would be equipped with adequate financial, material, and competent human resources and would be mandated to conduct consultations with civil society, human rights organisations, and concerned stakeholders. The petition’s hearing is scheduled for September 2024.

This piece of litigation is part of HRJC’s broader effort to implement the decisions of the Human Rights Committee (HRCttee), a monitoring body under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). To date, the HRCttee has issued 29 decisions against Nepal for gross human rights violations committed during the country’s internal armed conflict and the subsequent post-conflict period. The HRCttee’s decisions generally call for impartial investigations, the identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and reparation for victims, including psychosocial counseling, medical support. These decisions also urge preventive measures, such as amending national laws to align with international standards and widely disseminating the decisions in local languages.

These cases were decided between 2008 and 2022 and have affected 92 individuals. Even after successful jurisprudence at the international level, these decisions have been largely unimplemented domestically. For instance, out of 29 decisions, only 9 have been translated into Nepali, and only 3 victims have received compensation. Worryingly, 6 victims continue to suffer from chronic diseases or are in critical health conditions and 5 victims are over 70 years of age. While the current government commits to providing reparation to the victims of the conflict, it fails to adopt uniform policies. More importantly, there is no clarity on how other reparation measures recommended by the HRCttee would be implemented. In the meantime, victims and their representatives are forced to navigate complex bureaucratic hurdles, visiting multiple ministries to seek action on the different measures ordered by the HRCttee, often without receiving an adequate response.

To address these challenges, HRJC has been conducting strategic meetings with government bodies and submitting follow up reports to the HRCttee. In 2022, it also invited Helene Tigroudja, a member of the HRCttee to Nepal in her unofficial capacity, to discuss the implementation with diplomats, academics, National Human Rights Institutions, ministries and other concerned stakeholders.

HRJC remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring Nepal fulfils its international human rights obligations. Through public interest litigation and a range of other efforts, we employ a strategic, multifaceted approach to secure meaningful accountability and justice for victims of human rights violations in Nepal.

This article was first published in the Community Corner of our Just Reparation newsletter. These contributions are invaluable in enriching our collective understanding and fostering meaningful dialogue within the reparation community of practice. If you would like to be featured, we encourage you to submit your contributions to [email protected].