The Bill for Third Amendment of the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act related to transitional justice has been tabled in the National Assembly.
National Assembly Secretary Surendra Aryal tabled the bill during the National Assembly meeting held on Thursday.
The House of Representatives (HoR) passed the bill by a majority on Wednesday. All the lawmakers apart from Prem Suwal of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party stood in support of the bill when Speaker Dev Ghimire presented it to the floor for decision.
The National Assembly will send the bill back to the HoR after endorsement. HoR Speaker Devraj Ghimire will then send it to President Ram Chandra Paudel for authentication. It will become law after presidential authentication.
The bill registered in the House on March 9, 2023, by the then Pushpa Kamal Dahal government was stuck in the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House. The committee had formed an 11-strong sub-committee on the issue on May 19, 2023, but the sub-committee had not been able to forge consensus in lack of agreement among the top leaders of major parties.
The committee had recently endorsed it unanimously after the major political parties reached an agreement on the issue.
The parties agreed on two of the four issues they had failed to agree on. They resolved the difference of addressing those involved and associated in the armed conflict by agreeing to address all as victims. Similarly, they also agreed that victims can file case if they refuse reconciliation. They also agreed that the perpetrators will be liable for at least 25 percent of the prescribed punishment. They similarly resolved the fourth issue of contention by agreeing to mention expelled combatants and not child soldiers in the bill.
