Recommendation of TJ bodies officials at 'final stage'

KATHMANDU, May 14: The process of recommending the chiefs and members of the two crucial Transitional Justice (TJ) bodies has reached the final stage.

A committee formed to recommend names for the chiefs and members of the TJ bodies—Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Persons—is all set to publish the list of applicants within a week.

“We have now received all the documents from the applicants. The study of the documents is underway,” said Sharmila Karki, a member of the recommendations committee, adding, “A list of the applicants will be made public within a week.”

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Altogether 57 individuals have filed applications for appointment as chiefs or members of the two TJ bodies. Each TJ body will have a chief and four members .

Once the list of applicants is made public, the committee will call on the general public to register their complaints if any against anyone on the list. “After going through the complaints received we will investigate them and the prospective candidates for the two commissions will then be recommended,” said Karki.

The recommendation process was delayed as around half the applicants have not submitted several crucial documents. Of the total 55 applicants, 22 have not submitted their citizenship cards, according to officials. Furthermore, three of the total five organizations recommending candidates made their recommendations without completing the legal and official procedures.

A meeting of the recommendations committee on Monday distributed the academic credentials of applicants and statements about their experience level to all the committee members.

Both TJ bodies remain without office bearers as the government wanted to appoint a new set of people to handle the cases arising from the Maoist armed conflict period. Over 65,000 complaints filed by conflict victims accusing the Maoists and the state of human rights violations have remain unattended to for the last four years.

With the delay in settling the conflict-era cases, the victims have remained deprived of justice .