Ignoring serious reservations of conflict victims and human rights organisations over the selection process, the government on Wednesday appointed chairpersons and members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of the Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP).

A Cabinet meeting appointed former high court judge Mahesh Thapa as the truth commission’s chairperson and Lila Devi Gadtaula, former chief secretary, as the chair of the disappearance commission.

Likewise, Achyut Bhandari, Tika Prasad Dhakal, Padam Bahadur Shahi and Kumari Kausalya Ojha have been appointed as members of the TRC. Similarly, Gopal Nath Yogi, Agni Prasad Thapaliya, Srijana Pokharel and Binita Nepali have been appointed as members of the disappearance commission.

“The appointments have been made in line with the recommendations of the search committee,” Ajay Chausariya, minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, told the Post.

Both the commissions, constituted in February 2015, had been inactive since July 2022. The KP Sharma Oli administration, in consultation with major parties, had on March 24 formed a five-member panel led by former chief justice Om Prakash Mishra to recommend names for the two bodies.

On May 11, it recommended to the government 10 names for appointments. As many as 111 retired judges, former secretaries and human rights activists, among others, had applied for the 10 positions.

The government made the appointments hours after 39 organisations representing insurgency-era victims wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Oli urging him to refrain from making the appointments, claiming the selection process was nothing but a rubber stamp of the political parties. Through the letter they had warned they would not accept either the selection process or the appointments.

“Any decision imposed in a coercive ‘take it or leave it’ manner—ignoring our dignity and imposing unjust choices—is unacceptable to us. The democratic republic was established through our sacrifices and contributions, and under this system, we too are sovereign citizens. We are fully capable of discerning what is or isn’t in our best interest,” read their letter to the prime minister.

Prior to issuing the letter, they had met Hanna Singer-Hamdy, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal, to inform her of their reservations about the selection process.

“We requested the resident coordinator to facilitate dialogue between the victims and the representatives of the government, selection committee members and heads of major parties,” said Suman Adhikari, founding chair of the Conflict Victims Common Platform, who was present in the meeting. “She assured us that she would try her best to convey our message to the government.”

Taking to X, Singer said that a truly transformative transitional justice process ensures meaningful engagement of the victims at every stage. “Participation strengthens the legitimacy and credibility of the process,” read her post.

In separate meetings two weeks back, the victims had conveyed similar concerns to Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, along with Oli.

However, the government pressed ahead with the appointments without further consultations with the victims. The victims and the national and international human rights organisations have been raising questions about the transparency and credibility of the process. They say they do not have slightest confidence in the manner the committee conducted the selection.

Victims’ groups have been claiming that the shortlist of candidates was suddenly published without objective evaluation of their merit. “The committee did not even consider it necessary to sit with us for consultation or dialogue. It ignored the principle that the entire transitional justice process must be victim-centred. Nor did the government take any initiative in this regard,” read the letter to Oli.

The victims from the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency have been threatening to consider alternative options such as forming a civilian commission to reveal the truth and make public the list of the perpetrators.

“This is unacceptable to us. The government has chosen to ignore our valid concerns,” said Gopal Bahadur Shah, chairperson of the Conflict Victims’ National Network. “This is not the first time the commissions were formed. The previous ones failed because victims had no faith in them. The new team is also doomed to fail.”

The victims have threatened to withdraw their complaints from the commission as the government has ignored their demands. “It is clear that the government has no intention to ensure justice to the victims. So we might have to withdraw our complaints from these commissions,” said Adhikari.

The truth commission has 63,718 complaints while the disappearance commision is sitting on over 2,500 cases.