Draft Bill on TRC and Disappearances: Gender Perspective

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Draft Bill on TRC and Disappearances Gender
Perspective

• Mandira Sharma
• Advocacy Forum
• August 14, 2007

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TRCTRC is an important pillar in TJ

• TJ A process (or series of processes) to address
  human rights violations committed in the past,
  pursued when countries emerge from a period of
  violence and/or repression

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Modalities of TJ

• Prosecutions
• gt Those allegedly responsible are brought to
  trial before a court of law and may face
  punishment if found guilty of what they are
  accused of
• gt International prosecutions national
  prosecutions civil suits regional courts
• Truth-seeking
• gt Truth commissions national alternative
  approaches (for ex. NGOs, local processes, less
  formal) unofficial tribunals
• Reparations
• gt monetary payments access to services
  memorials
• Institutional reform
• gt Reform of police, military, judiciary
• Vetting

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Why TJ

• To make people Accountable, Combat impunity
• Help restore the dignity of victims by
  recognizing their experiences
• Create respect for human rights highlight the
  importance of rule of law
• Help to legitimize the new state
• Facilitate important institutional reforms
• (security sector legal reform political
  reform)
• Promote reconciliation, restore peace and
  security

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If No proper mechanism of TJ to deal with the
past, then

• Reinforce a culture of impunity (people are not
  held responsible for their actions and are not
  punished for wrongs they do)
• Create resentment amongst those affected
• Undermine other efforts to establish rule of law
• Create conflicting versions of what happened
• Reinforce images of The Enemy
• And thus it may create fertile ground for new
  violence in the future

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Nature of TRC

• Officially sanctioned,
• Temporary,
• Non-judicial bodies ,
• Establish the truth about large-scale human
  rights violations and abuses,
• Comprehensive and authoritative record,
• Identify responsibility of individuals and
  institutions,
• Root causes of the violations,

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When to establish TRC

• Three preconditions
• Sufficient political will to allow ( support) a
  serious inquiry into past abuses
• Violent conflict, war or repressive practices
  must have come to an end
• Interest on part of victims and witnesses to have
  such investigative process and cooperate with it.

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Main Provisions in proposed TRC Bill

• Mandate To investigate events surrounding the
  commission of gross violations of human rights
  and crimes against humanity ( No definition of
  these crimes in the bill)
• No jurisdiction over the cases considered under
  laws
• Those which are under the consideration of the
  court
• Time Incidences occurred between 13 February
  1996 and 21 November 2006
• The Commission Up to seven members appointed by
  3 members appointments committee set up by the
  consensus of all pol. Parties, one women, all the
  staffs from the GOVT
• Tenure 2 Years with the possibilities of one
  year extension

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Main provisions cont..

• Activities Submit report to the govt, make
  recommendations as to reconciliation,
  prosecutions, amnesty and reparations
• Focal institution The Ministry of Peace and
  Reconstruction is mandated to implement the
  Commissions recommendations
• Follow up NHRC

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Gender Perspectives

• No reference of womens experiences in the bill
  (preamble to the sections)
• No recognition of gender based violence
• Drafting Process No consultations with women
• Participation as the drafter? As commissioners?
  As experts?

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Gender perspective cont

• No thematic hearings? No special units for
  looking into these violence
• No specific reparation policies for women
• No provisions on experiences of girls children
  (abduction, sexual harassments, rape)

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Gender perspective cont

• Reparation conditioned to reconciliation
• Reconciliation in all the cases
• No mandates to analyze the root causes of the
  conflicts?
• No archives how to restore the Itihas?
• Amnesty to crimes against humanity?
• No mechanisms for prosecution.

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Principles

• National choice, national ownership
• Consultation participation
• Comprehensive trans. just. perspective
• Recipes dont work country-specific
• Political will independence
• Gender-sensitive
• Recognition of victims rights to justice

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Bill on Disappearances

• Main issues
• Draft bill to amend Muluki Yen
• Decision of the Supreme Court (June 1, 2007)
• Proposed commission to enquire about the
  disappearances committed in the past

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Status of bill

• In the parliament
• More than 130 proposals for the amendments !
• Narrow definition
• No prevention mechanism
• Lack of mechanisms to investigate, establish the
  truth, protect evidences, prosecute, make people
  accountable provide reparations to victims
• Again no reference to womens experiences
  (cultural, social, others)

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Decisions of June 1, 2007

• Establish the Commission (thorough separate
  legislation or amending the existing Commission
  of Enquiry Act)
• Need to bring separate comprehensive legislation
  in addressing the issue of disappearances
• Initiate prosecution under existing legislation
  on those cases where the court found person being
  already killed

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Few days later

• Government Decides to establish the Commission on
  Disappearance under the same commission of
  Enquiry Act
• Named three persons for the commissions
• Criticisms from HRO, Int. HRO, OHCHR, Victims
  groups

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Question Why the women organizations/ women
rights activists are silent?
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What could be the strategies

• Disseminate information
• Influence national HRO which are active on this
  field
• Alliances of women organizations
• Prepare commentary
• Present what we want to see in TJ, TRC,
  Disappearances (bills and commissions)
• Interact with INGOs/ UN
• Lobby parliamentarians, alliances of women
  parliamentarian?
• Political parties

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Thank you.
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