As soon as the Maoists declared a unilateral ceasefire, those who had been displaced due to the conflict and had fled to India began to return to their communities. It was reported that thousands of people from the western hill districts of Humla, Mugu, Kalikot, Bajhang, Bajura, Achham, Baitadi, Doti and Dadeldhura, returned.[fn]”Nepal Displaced Nepali people returning home,” ReliefWeb, May 3, 2006, accessed August 11, 2011 http://reliefweb.int.[/efn_note] The process of rehabilitating the IDPs was slow. This was due, not only to the fact that the Maoists failed to abide by the ceasefire, but also to the fact that the government failed to introduce effective policies and plans. Also, local and district level Maoist activists demanded trials of displaced people in their own judicial system called the “people’s court.”[fn]”Human Rights Yearbook 2007,” Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), 2007.[/efn_note]

Prosecuting those involved in human rights violations and whether they should be granted amnesty or not remain sensitive issues. On 27 February 2015, the Supreme Court annulled the amnesty provisions in the TRC bill in a response to the appeal filed by over 200 conflict victims.¹ The decision was hailed as a victory for the victims but the Maoist and splinter groups called for the nullification of the Supreme Court verdict. The court also had limited the mandate of the TRC and CIED commission so that they could not recommend amnesty.²

The human rights situation did not improve in 2014. After the arrest of Col. Lama in Great Britain, the Maoist party and the government had felt pressure to establish the truth and reconciliation commission to deal with the conflict era human rights violation cases. Both sides were in agreement to give immunity to those who were involved in serious human rights violation during the conflict. Accordingly, after an agreement with all parties, the government on 10 April tabled two bills in the legislature parliament on the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance.³ Because the TRC law could permit amnesty for serious crimes, rights groups and victims groups opposed the bills.⁴ Notwithstanding these oppositions, the parliament passed the TRC bills on 26 April 2014. The bill was criticized by victims groups and national and international human rights organizations. The formation of the TRC and CIED commission however faced setbacks as the law required that the National Human Rights Commission chairperson or his designated member be a committee member. After almost a year, the government appointed former Chief Justice Anup Raj Sharma as the Chairman of the NHRC. Other members of the commission were former Supreme Court justice Prakash Osti, Senior Advocate Govinda Sharma Pudel, rights activist Sudip Pathak and former member of National Women’s Commission Mohona Ansari.⁵

The human rights situation did not improve in 2013. For lack of political commitment to prosecute those responsible for conflict era human rights abuses, a culture of impunity prevails. On allegations of human rights abuses against Nepali people, especially for torturing two civilians in an army barrack in 2005, Colonel Kurma Lama from the Nepal Army was arrested in in Great Britain in January 2013.⁶ The Nepal government had asked for the immediate release of the colonel (“Nepal’s Colonel Kumar Lama held after court appearance,” BBC News, January 5 , 2013). The government hired internationally recognized Kingslay Napley law firm to defend Col. Lama.⁷ The country’s top human rights monitoring mechanism, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), had no commissioners since 16 September as the government allowed the terms of all commissioners to expire and did not appoint new commissioners.⁸ The NHRC had called for the prosecution of those responsible for conflict era human rights violations.

Human rights situation did not improve in 2012. In its report, Amnesty International suggested Nepal heading toward “full-spectrum impunity” because the government reneged on its commitment to hold perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable before the law.⁹ As a matter of fact, Nepal was criticized by the International Commission of Jurists and Human Rights Watch as political parties were preparing for general amnesty for all conflict-era crimes through the proposed transitional justice commissions.¹⁰ The human rights violation trend for 2012, however, is not available from the local human rights organizations.

The situation did not improve in 2011. According to INSEC, 19 people were killed in the first three months of 2011. This included one person being killed by the state. Non-state armed groups, (not including the Maoists), were responsible for the rest of the killings. Similarly, there were reports of 17 abductions. This figure includes 6 persons abducted by the Maoists.¹¹ Between July and September 2011, 25 individuals were killed in 19 different districts. Among those, three were killed by the state, two by Akhil Tarai Jantantrik Mukti Morcha and 19 people were killed by unidentified persons.[fn vaue=7]”Trend Analysis- July-September 2011,” INSEC, 2011, accessed July 31, 2012, http://www.inseconline.org.[/efn_note]

In 2010, a total of 459 people were killed. Of this figure, 32 people were killed by the state, and 5 people were killed by the Maoists. The Maoists also abducted 55 people and issued 123 threats compared with the state, which threatened 5 people. During the same period, the number of beatings enacted by the state was 122. The Maoists enacted 370 beatings.¹² Incidents of violations of human rights by other non-state actors were very high during the year.

The INSEC reported 1420 counts of human rights violations by the state and 5,137 counts of violations by non-state actors. In 2009, the state killed 41 people. The Maoists, and their affiliated organization, killed three. A total of 473 people were killed during this year. The Maoists and affiliated organizations were also involved in the capturing of property. During the same period, the Maoists and their affiliated organizations beat at least 491 people. The state beat 243 people.¹³ Incidents of violations of human rights by other non-state actors were very high during the year.

In 2008, 541 people were killed. This figure includes 50 people killed by the state and eight people killed by the Maoists and affiliated organizations. Similarly 729 people were abducted. This figure includes 138 people kidnapped by the Maoists and 162 people kidnapped by its sister organization, the Young Communist League. With regards to electoral-related violence, it was reported that the Maoists killed 12 people, injured another 383, beat 813, threatened 142 and abducted 304. Other political parties were also involved in similar activities. Yet the MaoistsÕ violations of human rights surpassed those of all parties.¹⁴ Incidents of violations of human rights by other non-state actors were very high during the year.

The human rights situation deteriorated in 2007. According to the INSEC report, violent armed groups emerged in the Tarai region and non-state actors were actively engaged in human rights violations. In 2007, the non-state actors killed 514 people. This figure includes 15 who had been killed by the Maoists. During the same period, the state killed 37 people.¹⁵ The INSEC also reported that Maoists were involved in activities like abduction and extortion.