TRC and CIEDP Reconstituted with Appointment of Chairpersons and Members

The government has reconstituted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) by appointing their chairpersons and members.

A Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday evening made the appointments based on the recommendations of the Recommendation Committee formed under the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act, 2071 BS. Government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung confirmed the appointments, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.

According to RSS, Mahesh Thapa (Shankhuwasabha) has been appointed Chairperson of the TRC, with Achyut Prasad Bhandari (Jajarkot), Dr Tika Prasad Dhakal (Panchthar), Padam Bahadur Shahi (Jumla), and Kumari Kaushalya Ojha (Kanchanpur) as its members.

Likewise, the CIEDP has been reconstituted with Lila Devi Gadtaula (Tehrathum) as Chairperson, and Gopalnath Yogi (Salyan), Agni Prasad Thapaliya (Jhapa), Srijana Pokharel (Kathmandu), and Binita Nepali (Kaski) as members.

The newly appointed office-bearers of the transitional justice commissions will serve a four-year term, RSS further reported. Their remuneration and perks will be equivalent to those of officials of the National Human Rights Commission.

Nepal’s transitional justice process has remained stalled for nearly two decades since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government and the then rebel Maoists in 2006. Successive governments have failed to deliver justice to victims of the Maoist insurgency due to prolonged delays in appointing leadership to the commissions, lack of political will, and vested interests aimed at protecting perpetrators. As a result, thousands of conflict-era complaints remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, the government has also reconstituted the committee responsible for recommending candidates for the post of Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank.

The reconstituted committee is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, with former Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari and economist Dr Poshraj Pandey as members.