Law Minister insists on consensus regarding transitional justice bill

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Dhanaraj Gurung, has insisted on the need to reach a consensus on the bill related to transitional justice. In a meeting of the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives (HoR) today, he said there has been an agreement to finalize the bill through consensus whenever feasible.

Gurung added that if consensus was not possible, an alternative procedure would be followed to take the bill to a conclusion.

In the meeting chaired by Committee president Bimala Subedi, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said it was concerning that survivors of the decade-long armed conflict have been deprived of justice when 17 years have already elapsed since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord. “If consensus is not attainable, the bill should be concluded through an established procedure.”

CPN (UML) whip Mahesh Bartaula was also of the opinion that finalizing the bill through a process of consensus remained elusive.

The meeting initiated discussions with a focus on seeking a consensus to advance the bill as much as possible. Simultaneously, considerations were made on following a defined process if a consensus becomes unattainable.

Committee members Santosh Pariyar, Ranju Thakur, Purna Bahadur Gharti, Jeevan Pariyar, Sobita Gautam, Nagina Yadav, and Sushila Thing were among those taking part in the discussions.

Political parties have differing views on certain provisions of the bill, particularly concerning the finding of truth, the delivery of justice, and the process of reparation.