Over the past years, as conflicts raged in several countries around the world and as these
countries struggled slowly towards peace and democratization we as the global community
some important lessons. It would serve us well to recall these for Nepal.
One such vital lesson is that the past however bloody or not, cannot be wished away, nor
brushed under the carpet or denied. Unless confronted and dealt with it will keep coming
back to haunt us in terribly obstructionist ways. So the question before us is how do we
confront the past and how do we deal with it? The voices we heard today and have been
hearing over the past many months clearly indicate that we confront the past with truth.
Truth about what actually happened to those loved ones who disappeared into the darkness
of the conflict, never to return. And then we deal with the past through justice and
reparations.
For many of those Nepalis who suffered gross human rights violations, including death and
disappearances of their loved ones, the past is still happening. It needs to be resolved with a closure. For the victims of the conflict who are still “living the past” we need to bring about a transformation so that they can live with the past. The trauma and suffering of an individual victim can be metaphorically extended to the life of a nation. Nepal’s troubled past will continue to contaminate the present and the future of Nepal including its peace process unless resolved and reconciled through truth, justice and reparations. And history teaches us a second lesson, that institutional remembrance and resolution including through transitional justice mechanisms is one big step forward in letting go off the past and facing the present and future with a clean slate.
#HUMANRIGHTS #SPEECH
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Publisher:
UNOHCHR
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(2011
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Type / Script:
Annual Report
in English
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Keywords:
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS, RIGHT TO PEACE, WOMEN'S RIGHTS
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Thematic Group:
UNOHCHR
:
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
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Thesaurus:
14.02.02
- Human Rights
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Reference Link:
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