ANNUAL REPORT 2004 At the time when the entire nation had been petrified by the seven years of continuous armed Maoist rebellion, the recent ceasefire and peace process between the state and the Maoists had generated a sense of hope among the peace loving Nepalese citizens. However, after the derailment of peace talk and dialogues between the two parties, the Maoists have continued their arm struggle once again, thereby further escalating the violation of human rights situation in Nepal. Ever since its establishment, the Commission is firm on the view that with negotiation and dialogues, any kind of conflict can be resolved peacefully.Therefore, the talks should focus more on the lasting peace without which problems regarding poverty, social ratings and unequal resource distribution cannot be solved.Thousands of people have lost their lives in the seven years of conflict. More than fifty thousand people have lost their homes and fled from their ancestral land to become refugees in their own country. Furthermore, these people are subjected to sub-standard life under such circumstances. Thousands of women have been subjected to become widows and thousands of children have become orphans. Therefore, instead of just being a mere spectator of such atrocities and heinous crimes, the Commission is seeking ways to direct its human and capital resources to the creation of long-term trust between the two parties. The Commission believes that the human rights should be the primary agenda for any kind of peace talk between the two parties. For this, it is crucial that there should be serious interaction between various groups and organizations like the government, political parties, civil society and the rebels themselves. However, the Commissions efforts have not resulted in measurable successes yet. The Commission is dedicated to bringing the rebels and His Majesty’s Government into agreement regarding human rights. The Commission has also gone through the case studies of various countries where civil wars have previously taken place and their efforts and experiences to combat the problem by creating a pressure group from all sectors. Once the pressure group is formed, the civil rights, political rights, economical rights, social rights and cultural rights of the people in this country will be honored. Only then will this country find an amicable solution to poverty, illiteracy, racial abuses and discriminations which are in fact the root causes of this present crisis. The Commission is determined that only after this that any substantial development regarding human rights can be achieved. It is very important for all sectors of our society to realize that if the present conflict transformation does not occur in peaceful ways, then violence in the form of murder, unlawful arrests, inhuman torture, disappearance and abduction will increase in future, thereby further degrading the human rights situation in Nepal. Everyone should be cautious that in future the rebels will not repeat their brutalities against innocent children, women and old people or those who are going to their homes on festivals or traveling by bus like they have done in the past. There should not be any recurrence of murder, abduction, mutilation and extortion in future. Human rights should be respected, obeyed, enshrined and implemented with utmost sincerity. There should not be any violation of human rights and people’s right to live in any cases. It is very necessary and essential that there should be strong commitments regarding human rights from all sectors including the parties at dispute. The Commission is confident that if, and only if, the two parties could comply with human rights and humanitarian law, an environment of trust for further dialogue and negotiation will be created. ❁❁❁ 3