Raising Awareness Around Conflict-era Sexual Violence in Nepal

Advocacy Forum (AF), a Nepali human rights organization, undertakes systematic monitoring and documentation of human rights violations, litigation and advocacy to strive to uphold international human rights standards and advance the rule of law.  Currently, AF is comprised of a Human Rights Documentation and Monitoring Department, Prevention of Torture Department, Child Rights Monitoring Department, Criminal Justice Department, and Transitional Justice Department.  I mainly focus on reporting the sexual violence situation in Nepal, paying particular attention to conflict-era instances of sexual violence. 

            In 1996 the Communist Part of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) declared a people’s war that grew into a full-fledged armed conflict between the CPN-M and Nepali government forces.  During the period between 1996 and 2006, at least 13,000 people lost their lives and many individuals were victims of extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture, and sexual violence.  The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006 marked the end of the conflict, calling for the ensurance of human rights, including a commitment to fundamental rights and the rule of law.  Additionally, the agreement made a promise to uphold Nepal’s international obligations to human rights.  However, to date, many of these promises have not been fulfilled.

            Overwhelmingly, instances of sexual violence have gone underreported and have been poorly documented in both the domestic arena as well as internationally in comparison to the other violations during the conflict.  In Nepal a strong culture of impunity exists for sexual violence cases, as well as other human rights violations.  Additionally, research points to societal norms discouraging women from coming forward and the State’s failure to properly register, investigate, and prosecute cases of sexual violence as obstacles to justice.  

            During my time at AF I was fortunate to attend “Litigating Gender-Based Violence in Nepal,” a workshop facilitated by AF and REDRESS.  The workshop brought together human rights defenders from across Nepal and experts from around the world to strategize on new avenues to pursue in order to achieve truth and justice for victims of sexual violence.  With a short, 35-day, statute of limitations for cases of rape, most if not all domestic remedies are unavailable for women who suffered such abuse during the conflict.  The group discussed the availability of international mechanisms and experiences utilizing such avenues.  

            The workshop proved extremely valuable to my work on sexual violence for AF.  Beyond providing a solid background on domestic and international mechanisms available to Nepali victims, the workshop provided a forum for the attorneys to discuss specific challenges they face representing victims and survivors.  Armed with the knowledge of these obstacles, the group strategized on how to overcome them.  This exercise aided in my understanding of the situation in Nepal and provided me with the tools and knowledge to move forward in reporting and advocating on behalf of victims and survivors of sexual violence.