Between 1996 and 2006, an internal conflict between the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN (Maoist)) left at least 13,000 people dead and 1,300 missing. By signing the Comprehensive Peace Accord on 21 November 2006, the Government of Nepal and the CPN (Maoist) committed to establishing the truth about the conduct of the war and to ensuring the victims of the conflict receive both justice and reparations. To that end, the Comprehensive Peace Accord references commitments to form two transitional justice mechanisms: a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission on Disappeared Persons.

The Nepal Conflict Report documents and analyses the major categories of conflict-related violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that took place in Nepal from February 1996 to 21 November 2006.

By contributing to the documentation and compilation of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in Nepal during the conflict, the Report aims to assist the People of Nepal to realize a transitional justice strategy, to combat the prevailing impunity and to enable the conflict’s many victims to obtain justice.

The Core Messages of the Nepal Conflict Report

1. Under international law, the Government of Nepal has a fundamental obligation to investigate and prosecute serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that were committed during the conflict.
    
2. Where there is a reasonable basis for suspicion that a serious violation of international law occurred, these cases merit prompt and independent investigation by a full judicial process
    
3. The transitional justice mechanisms are an important part of the transitional justice process but should complement criminal processes and not be an alternative to them

The Transitional Justice Reference Archive

The cases and data in the Nepal Conflict Report are derived from the Transitional Justice Reference Archive (TJRA), a database of approximately 30,000 documents and cases relevant to the armed conflict. This database was developed to both preserve important evidence concerning events during the conflict, and to allow for research into the incidents that have been recorded. The documents contained in this database, in both English and Nepali language were compiled from a wide range of credible sources including national and international NGOs as well as OHCHR-Nepal’s own reporting over the last six years. Recorded cases contain information about the victim(s), the perpetrator group, the alleged violation, the date it occurred (or commenced) and its location. Most of the documents are reports and other materials already available in the public domain.

This database was originally developed to be an off-line reference tool for the use of the transitional justice commissions. The public version that is available from this website has been modified in two ways. Firstly, all information deemed confidential, such as certain case material, has been removed. Secondly, the public version has been adopted for use in html format which has resulted in certain limitations to the search function. OHCHR is currently working to finalise the off-line public version to be made available to Nepali organisations working on transitional justice issues.

Disclaimer: OHCHR accepts no responsibility for any unauthorized edits, duplication, reproduction and redistribution of this product. As this database is an archive of existing documents, OHCHR is not responsible for any errors or misrepresentation made in materials produced by other parties. The inclusion of a report, document or other information in the reference archive is in no way an endorsement of the credibility or accuracy of the material or its source, nor does the absence of a report, document or other information reflect reservations about the credibility or accuracy of the material of its source. The archive in its current form is by no means exhaustive: given the resources required to identify and prepare relevant documents for inclusion, and the importance of providing the user with clear and verifiable sourcing for all incident documentation, priority was given to material from organizations that have both conducted substantial human rights reporting and made this reporting readily available on the internet. In principle, any relevant material from any source can be incorporated into future versions of the archive. It is possible that some of the web-links in the TRJA no longer work.