MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL THE RIGHT TO KNOW 1 MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL The right to know TER IN NA E T IO IT N M A O L C G ENEVE ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross Nepal Red Cross Society GPO Box: 21225, Meen Bhawan, Naya Baneshwor National Headquarters, Red Cross Marga, TER IN NA E T IO IT N Kathmandu, Nepal PO Box 217, Kalimati, Kathmandu , Nepal M A O L C Tel: (00977) 1 4482285 / 4492679 Tel: (00977) 1 4270650 / 4285089 G ENEVE Fax: (00977) 1 4482937 Fax: (00977) 1 4271915 E-mail: [email protected] Email: [email protected] ICRC www.icrc.org www.nrcs.org © ICRC, August 2008 All photographs: Kishor Kayastha MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL THE RIGHT TO KNOW 3 MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL The right to know Uncertainty about the fate of a relative is a harsh reality for countless families during an armed conflict or other situations of violence. Parents, siblings, spouses and children around the world are all desperately searching for their lost relatives. Not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead, families and communities are unable to put the violence of the past behind them. Their anguish continues years after peace has returned, and they are unable to move on to rehabilitation and reconciliation, either as individuals or as communities. These wounds harm the very fabric of society and undermine relationships between groups, sometimes decades after a conflict has ended. The 10-year conflict in Nepal between 1996 and 2006 brought tragedy for many families: thousands of people were killed during the conflict, and over one thousand families still have no information on the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones. International humanitarian law requires the authorities to take all feasible measures to account for persons who have gone missing, and to provide their families with all the information they may have on their fate and whereabouts. Under international humanitarian law, the authorities are obliged to do everything possible to provide families with answers that will end the agony of uncertainty so that they can begin mourning the loss of a beloved husband or wife, caring parents, or loving son or daughter. Since 1999, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), supported by the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), has been talking to the families of the missing across Nepal and asking the parties to the conflict to clarify the fate of those who went missing in connection with the conflict. Over the years, the ICRC collected more than 3400 reports of disappearances. While the fate and whereabouts of hundreds has been established, two years after the end of the conflict more than 1200 people remain unaccounted for. Many families in Nepal have therefore been denied the joyful reunion they were hoping for. Instead, they face the ongoing pain of not knowing if their loved one is alive or dead, healthy or sick, detained or free. Whatever their economic situation or their background, these families all have this in common: they all need to know what happened to their loved ones, they need an official acknowledgement of their situation and they require support to meet their most essential needs. In February 2007, for the first time, the ICRC and the NRCS published a list of missing persons in Nepal, which contained 812 names. Following this, 33 families received an answer and have been able to move on with their lives; meanwhile many more came forward and asked the Red Cross to help them obtain information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. The names of the 1227 persons listed on this present document were collected over many years during continued contacts between the ICRC, in cooperation with the NRCS, and distressed families trying to cope with their feelings of despair, anger and helplessness. Each name therefore represents the missing person, his or her family, the suffering of that family, the statements the families provided to the ICRC, and the ICRC's repeated representations to the authorities. This is not a comprehensive list of all those who went missing during the conflict; it contains only the names of the persons whose families have met representatives of the NRCS or the ICRC and who are seeking information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. The publication of the names of these 1227 persons has two main aims. First, it seeks public recognition for the families of the missing and acknowledgement of their suffering and needs. Secondly, the publication constitutes 4 MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL THE RIGHT TO KNOW an appeal to the government of Nepal for clarification of the fate of those who went missing during the conflict and for the immediate needs of the families of the missing to be met. Nepal's Comprehensive Peace Agreement and several subsequent agreements committed the authorities to setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission of Enquiry on the Disappeared. These two commissions will help address the suffering of families whose relatives were victims of violations that took place during the conflict, such as extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances. In addition to supporting the creation of these commissions, the ICRC is urging the authorities to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all those who went missing as a result of the armed conflict and to grant them an official status. This status would allow their families to access government support programmes that address their specific needs, which provide psychological and material support, assistance in dealing with the specific legal problems they face (regarding inheritance and marriage, for instance), and access to judicial procedures in connection with the disappearances. Clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing relatives and taking the above-mentioned measures regarding the status of the missing are both critical: they will allow the families to begin the process of mourning and reconciliation. WHO ARE THE MISSING? In Nepal, the ICRC defines a missing person as an individual who is unaccounted for as a result of the armed conflict in the country between 13 February 1996 and 21 November 2006, and whose family is still waiting for one or more of the following: • a satisfactory answer from the authorities clarifying their fate; • an acknowledgement of the disappearance from the government (in the form of a declaration of death, a death certificate or the granting of a special status); • support from the government to receive reparations; • if deceased, information on the location of human remains and the recovery thereof; • legal redress. MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL THE RIGHT TO KNOW 5 MISSING PERSONS IN NEPAL ARE YOU MISSING A RELATIVE? If the name of your missing relative is not on this list and you are expecting a response from the authorities, please contact your district branch of the Nepal Red Cross Society or the nearest ICRC office to report a disappearance. Please also contact your district branch of the Nepal Red Cross Society or the nearest ICRC office if you have information on the fate or whereabouts of anyone whose name appears on the list. The names in the list are presented according to district of disappearance. DATE OF DISTRICT DATE OF PLACE OF FULL NAME SEX BIRTH OF BIRTH FATHER'S NAME DISAPPEARANCE DISAPPEARANCE ACHHAM BHIM BAHADUR SHAHI M --.--.1973 ACHHAM KHADAK BAHADUR SHAHI 23.09.2003 GARITAD CHATTRA BAHADUR SHAHI M --.--.1982 ACHHAM LOK BAHADUR SHAHI 23.09.2003 GARITAD DIPENDRA BOHARA M --.--.1986 ACHHAM MIN BAHADUR BOHARA 02.10.2003 MANGALSEN KAMMANE SAUD M 20.11.1982 ACHHAM LAL BAHADUR SAUD 02.03.2005 BHATAKATIYA KHADKA BAHADUR SHRESTHA M 16.10.1983 SURKHET MAN BAHADUR SHRESTHA --.--.2003 MANGALSEN MAHA OUJI M --.--.1986 ACHHAM CHUNDRIYA OUJI 22.03.2005 MANGALSEN PADAM RAJ NEUPANE M --.--.1985 ACHHAM UMAKANTA NEUPANE 05.03.2005 BATULASEN SANTOSH BOGATI M --.--.1983 ACHHAM JAGAT BAHADUR BOGATI 20.04.2004 MANGALSEN SHAILENDRA SHAH M 29.12.1985 ACHHAM RANA BAHADUR SHAH 26.06.2003 BABALA ARGHAKANCHHI HIRA KARKI F --.--.1986 KAPILBASTU BHIM BAHADUR KARKI 17.06.2004 SIDDHARA ISHWORI PRASAD BHUSAL CHHETRI M --.02.1959 ARGHAKANCHHI BHIM BAHADUR BHUSAL 28.03.2003 NUWAKOT JANGA BAHADUR CHAND M 27.08.1983 BAITADI KARBIR CHAND 15.12.2004 SIDDHARA MINA KHADKA F 11.03.1987 ARGHAKANCHHI RISHI RAM KHADKA 28.12.2004 SIMALPANI RUP NARAYAN CHAUDHARI M --.--.1985 NAWALPARASI BISHWA NATH CHAUDHARI 15.12.2004 SIDDHARA TULSI RAM KANDEL M --.--.1985 BAGLUNG LAXMI PRASAD KANDEL 15.12.2004 SIDDHARA BAGLUNG BHIM KUMARI GAUCHAN F 20.04.1982 BAGLUNG DAL PRASAD SHERCHAN --.03.2005 BAGLUNG BIJULA DEVI KANDEL F --.--.1984 BAGLUNG TIKA RAM SAPKOTA --.--.2003 PAIYUNTHANTHAP DAL BAHADUR LIMBU M 27.02.1972 INDIA GAJENDRA BAHADUR LIMBU --.09.2001 UNKNOWN DAL BHAKTA LOPCHAN M --.--.1962 BAGLUNG RUP LAL LOPCHAN --.06.2002 BURTIBARG DHAK BAHADUR BASNET M --.--.1969 BAGLUNG SHIVA LAL BASNET 15.03.2002 NARETHANTI DIL MAYA B K F --.--.1980 BAGLUNG BHIM BAHADUR B K 06.06.2002 BONGADOVAN GANESH K C M --.--.1985 BAGLUNG BIMAL K C --.--.2001 UNKNOWN GANGA BAHADUR PUN M --.11.1974 BAGLUNG BIRKHA MAN PUN 06.06.2002 BONGADOVAN GORI B K F --.--.1952 BAGLUNG GOPI LAL B K 06.06.2002 BONGADOVAN HEM LAL KHATRI M 06.11.1974 BAGLUNG KHETI LAL KHATRI 06.06.2002 BONGADOVAN KUL BAHADUR KHATRI M 01.10.1971 BAGLUNG KHETI LAL KHATRI 06.06.2002 BONGADOVAN MILAN BHANDARI M --.--.1978 BAGLUNG MAN BAHADUR BHANDARI --.01.2002 BAGLUNG NARESH CHHANTYAL M --.--.1975 BAGLUNG GYAN BAHADUR CHHANTYAL 20.03.2004 TAMAN PRAMILA B K F --.--.1950 BAGLUNG GOPI LAL B K 06.06.2002 BONGADOVAN RAM BAHADUR B K M --.--.1984 BAGLUNG INDRA BAHADUR B K 13.01.2002 BHINGGITHE SURYA PRASAD SHARMA M --.05.1961 BAGLUNG NANDA RAM SHARMA 21.01.2002 BAGLUNG THAM BAHADUR B K M --.--.1974 BAGLUNG MAN BAHADUR B K 28.02.2002 KHUNGA VAJINDRA GHARTI MAGAR M 29.06.1977 BAGLUNG BAL BIR GHARTI 11.03.2002 BAGLUNG BAITADI BHAGRATHI SAUD F --.--.1982 BAITADI DHAMRE SAUD 29.11.2005 SIKASH CHANDRA SINGH SAUD M --.07.1985 BAITADI DHANE SAUD 05.09.2004 DHUNGAD CHITRA PRASAD NEUPANE M --.--.1968 JUMLA DHAN KRISHNA NEUPANE --.06.2002 HATRAJ GOPAL SINGH DHAMI M --.--.1986 BAITADI LALE DHAMI 26.06.2003 SIDDHESWARI RAMESH BAHADUR CHAND M 10.12.1982 BAITADI MADAN BAHADUR CHAND 21.10.2002 MAHAKALI BAJURA .