Forum (Spotlight Weekly)

NHRC: Taking A Stand On Human Rights In Peace Process

By Bipin Adhikari

A meeting held between His Majesty's Government and CPN (Maoist) on May 9, 2003 has formed a 13-member Monitoring Committee, which has been entrusted to monitor the implementation of the Code of Conduct. The National Human Rights Commission has been appointed to serve as the Chief Coordinator of the Monitoring Committee. In this regard, the Commission has sent a letter to the Chief Coordinators of the Negotiation Teams of His Majesty's Government and the CPN (Maoist), inquiring about various issues related to the Monitoring Committee. The Commission emphasized in the letter the importance and complexity of the monitoring work and the need for establishing a proper and efficient mechanism for responsible and credible oversight and dissemination of information.

In the beginning, the Commission had nurtured the idea that it cannot assume the responsibility of monitoring the ceasefire and adherence to the Code of Conduct per se. Instead, it requested for the establishment of a separate and credible monitoring team which can not only conduct monitoring activities, but can also assist in the adherence of the Code of conduct and prevent any activities in contravention to it. But later, the Commission changed its mind due to the pressures from the civil society as well as the parties to the conflict. In this context, the letter referred to above raised some significant issues related to the mandate, terms of reference, management, funding and resources of the Monitoring Committee as well as other basic necessities required for the effective functioning of the Committee if the Commission is to be involved with the monitoring team. The Commission also requested both the parties to consider the draft "human rights agreement", which had been sent to both these parties recently and hoped for the early response to it.

Many human rights practitioners consider a human rights agreement between the parties as the need of the hour. The Commission has also frequently expressed that a clear-cut policy regarding the protection of human rights may be an important step in achieving a negotiated settlement of the Maoist conflict. Such a provision may have the potential to end the violence that has wrecked the nation since the last seven years. However, the Commission is concerned by the failure of the Code of Conduct to incorporate into its provisions internationally recognized human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) principles, such as the need to bring to justice persons responsible for grave abuses. Whatever are incorporate, they are there not as binding obligations but as political benchmarks subject to negotiation, political expediency, and performance by other parties. Failure to incorporate such standards is not new. Almost all Israeli-Palestinian agreements, for example, have ignored human rights protections and IHL standards and failed to guard against rampant abuse. It is crucial not to repeat these mistakes.

Recent experience in the former Yugoslavia, East Timor, Guatemala and elsewhere has also shown that the legitimacy and sustainability of political processes are strengthened, not weakened, by including IHL and human rights standards. All conflict-related agreements should thus include and uphold these standards. In the words of the U.N. Secretary General's latest report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (S/2002/1300), "The effective protection of civilians is a critical element in laying the foundations of the peace process. The durability of peace is dependent on a commitment to the protection of civilians from its very inception."

The suggestions of National Human Rights Commission to HMG and CPN (Maoist) Peace Negotiation Committees as at 14 May 14, 2003 may be summarized as follows:

The Commission welcomes the ceasefire and also welcomes the Code of Conduct agreed upon by the Government and the CPN (Maoist) as a basis for transforming the ceasefire into permanent peace.

It welcomes the commitment expressed by both the parties towards reaching a peaceful outcome through negotiations as stated in the first clause of the Code of Conduct, which "calls on both parties to endeavor and remain committed towards seeking a peaceful outcome in the resolution of the conflict".

It has shown special interest the Code of Conduct as ten of the 22 clauses in the Code of Conduct deal with human rights issues. It also becomes necessary for the Commission to express its interest on institutional and policy arrangements for the implementation of the clauses related to human rights in the Code of Conduct.

The National Human Rights Commission welcomes the statement included in Clause 15, which states, "There will be no obstruction in exercising the fundamental rights of the people". The Commission is assured that both parties are committed to, and aware of the fact that the fundamental rights of the people are part of the basic principles of international human rights standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other principles of human rights adopted by the United Nations.

It is the major responsibility of the Government to respect and protect the human rights of the people even if there is no mention of such issues in the Code of Conduct. Any agreement reached by the Government should be based on established human rights principles, standards and adherence to international obligations and responsibilities at the same time. Similarly, established human rights standards should not be limiting or separated from an agreement. The Commission therefore requests the Negotiation Committee to keep in mind the fact that the observance of human rights remains the prime responsibility of the state.

We have reached a critical juncture in history towards addressing relevant causes of the conflict and working for the resolution of conflict by peaceful means. We have already witnessed the results of the activities that wreaked violence in the country. While accepting that fact that the deterioration of human rights in the country has been due to the instability in the country, we are assured of the commitment of all political parties including the CPN (Maoist) to the resolution of the conflict through peaceful means and we are hopeful that such commitment will greatly assist in the peace process.

It is essential to keep in mind that the "Peace Process" is a difficult process and assistance, patience and commitment to peace by increasing interactions in all levels is necessary for the successful resolution of the conflict through talks. Instead of thinking about one's position in the peace talks, all political parties, representatives bodies of the people and the civil society should sincerely endeavor towards addressing the core causes behind the conflict and how human rights may be fully protected in the future.

It is necessary that everyone should actively take part in the peace process and it is essential to establish a realistic and systematic mechanism for such activities. In this regard, we can also learn from the experiences of several countries in transition between a period of conflict and a peaceful environment. The National Human Rights Commission is ready to assist in this aspect.

There have not been any endeavors towards ameliorating the condition of the lives of people who have suffered from the seven years of conflict in the country. The peace process should proceed with measures towards reducing the grief and pain of the suffering people, otherwise the people will be left out of the peace process and the situation could revert to a situation of instability.

We are aware of the lack of punitive measures against violators of human rights in the pretext of resolving political issues in the past. It is of utmost importance to address the question as to how to deal with the human rights violations committed in the past. Definitive procedures have to be adopted in order to deal with the human rights violations in the past and also to prevent any such violations in the future. Unconditional pardoning can only encourage the continuity of the prevalent atmosphere of impunity. The intention of addressing issues of human rights violations is not to create an obstacle in the peace process, but to address human rights violations along with other issues related to the conflict.

The National Human Rights Commission is eager to provide technical assistance for the negotiation committee to deal with the various issues that arise during the talks. As the international community also has the responsibility and the expertise to provide technical assistance, both the Government and the CPN (Maoist) should solicit such assistance from international institutions such as the United Nations and its specialized institutions, the European Commission and other international human rights institutions. The National Human Rights Commission is ready to coordinate efforts in this regard.

The National Human Rights Commission hopes for a separate agreement on human rights issues between the Government and the CPN (Maoists) and the Commission is currently working on this issue. The Commission is eager to provide all necessary assistance required in addressing human rights issues during the peace talks.

[Adhikari is a lawyer]