KATHMANDU, Nepal–Estimating that parts of a bill proposed by the Nepal government could provide amnesty to people who committed heinous human rights violations during a decade long insurgency, international rights groups have called on the rejection of the bill.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said in a statement Thursday that provisions in the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission bill hold provisions for an amnesty that violate international law.
The proposed bill would set up commissions to probe into crimes during 1996-2006, when more than 13,000 people were killed, thousand others were displaced and tens of thousands were homeless due to civil war.
The groups also say the language in the bill is too vague.
The ex-rebels who are now a significant part of Nepali politics fear they could be prosecuted for their activities during the years of fighting.