POLICY PAPER July 2013 | Issue 1 | Vol.8 Nepal’s Peace Process: A Brief Overview Nepal Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS) • A brief overview of conflict • Agreement among political parties and the CPA • Constitutional provisions • Role of international community • Discharge of the disqualified combatants • The Seven-Point Agreement on integration and rehabilitation • Salient features of integration and rehabilita- tion • Expenditure of integration and rehabilitation process • Conclusion Nepal’s Peace Process: A Brief Overview Page 2 A brief overview of conflict and also address the long pending social and economic problems of the country. However, Nepal passed through a decade long (1996- due to the intra-party and inter-party conflicts 2006) violent conflict as a consequence of and frequent changes of the government, which Nepali people suffered severe threats the successive elected governments failed to to their state of political, social, economic, address those burning issues that led to psychological and physical well being. frustration and disappointment among the The year 1996 marked the beginning of the common people. The inter-party squabbles, armed conflict as the Communist Party of political instability and failure to address the Nepal (Maoist) [CPN (Maoist)] launched the common people's expectations in the post ‘People’s War’ against the state. The CPN 1990s democracy provided fertile ground to the (Maoist) submitted a 40-point demand to the extreme forces like the CPN (Maoist) to assert Government of Nepal (GoN) on 4 February their agendas and escalate violent activities. 1996 and had threatened if their demands were They were able to capitalize the prevailing not met by 17 February, they would start armed pathetic political and social situation of the struggle. However, the ‘People’s War’ was time and quickly expand their influence and declared 4 days before the actual deadline they activities throughout the country. Hence, the had given to the government. As stated in their country entered into protracted conflict that documents of the time, the aim of launching took ten years to resolve and endured a high armed struggle in Nepal was to establish a human and socio-economic cost. 'new people’s democracy’ (similar to China in 1949)', under the leadership of them which was The armed conflict caused large number also called in their terminology as 'dictatorship of deaths, disappearances, dislocation, of proletariat' through protracted guerrilla war displacement, violence, damages of property by overthrowing the multi-party democratic and infrastructure along with economic down system which was established in 1990 after the turns. The following data obtained from the popular mass uprising. The newly established Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR) multi-party democratic governments at the time presented in the Table 1 shows the human cost were about to institutionalize democratic system of the armed conflict during the period. Table 1: Human cost during the armed conflict furnished by the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction S.N. Title Number 1 Deceased persons 17,886 2 Disappeared persons 1,530 3 Displaced persons 79,571 4 Abducted persons 3,142 5 Disabled persons 8,935 6 Widows 9,000 7 Individual property damaged 17,484 8 Family of martyrs’ of the People's Movement 26 9 Those injured during People's Movement 4,014 10 Orphans 620 Source: Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction 2013 1 Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, http://www.rahat.gov.np/uploads/4330 File Ashad1.pd Nepal’s Peace Process: A Brief Overview Page 3 As mentioned in the above table, a total namely killings, torture, abduction, threatening, of 17,886 people lost their lives during extortion etc.) and counter response from the the armed conflict. However, according to security agencies. Both sides did not follow the INSEC, a leading human rights organization norms and values of human rights and arbitrary of Nepal, a total of 13,347 people died in the killings and arrests were rampant. Moreover, in course of armed conflict from 1996 to 2006.2 the entire ten years period, the CPN (Maoist) The contradiction in numbers between the engaged in arbitrary killings, abductions, government's report and INSEC further adds to extortions and forced eviction of the common the difficulty in conforming actual number of people and the members of the other political victims of the armed conflict. Another official parties. report claims that after the signing of the The escalation of violence and deteriorating Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), 551 security situation forced the closure of many people were killed in 2007 and 541 in 2008.3 industries due to the insurgent’s threats. Mass The number might have increased by now. It migration from the worst affected areas to other is a tragedy of Nepal’s peace process that even parts of the country and beyond dramatically after the end of armed conflict and signing of the increased. One of the most visible and direct CPA, people continued to be killed. Likewise, physical impact of the armed conflict is a total of 1,530 people disappeared during the the widespread destruction of physical period of conflict, most of them during the state infrastructure as well as private and public of emergency. 79,571 persons were internally property. The total destruction of infrastructures displaced due to violence and terror (several is summarized in the following table. forms of violence inflicted by the CPN (Maoist), Table 2: Destruction of infrastructure during the armed conflict S.N Categories Total destroyed 1 Schools 2,149 2 VDC offices 2,072 3 Government offices at district HQs 986 4 Government offices at local level 1,047 5 DDCs, Municipalities 130 6 Suspension bridges 101 7 Others 2,032 Source: The Kathmandu Post4 The data in Table 2 shows that 8,517 public other local level government offices were also structures were destroyed during the armed destroyed. The loss has not only troubled the conflict. The table also shows that 2,149 lives of people but also added an economic school buildings were destroyed, followed by burden to the state. It is evident that the conflict 2,072 Village Development Committee (VDC) created socio-political and economic chaos in offices. Similarly, 986 government offices at the country. district Head Quarters (HQ) and numerous 2 See INSEC Year Book 1996-2006. 3 Rana, Bandana and Rana, Pinky Singh. Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. 4 Ghimire, Binod, “Only halfway to reconstruction target,” The Kathmandu Post, April 30, 2013. Nepal’s Peace Process: A Brief Overview Page 4 2. Agreement among political parties and from both armies would be stored into the UN- the Comprehensive Peace Agreement monitored containers. The CPA in its article The Twelve-Point Agreement signed by the 4.4 also mentioned - ‘the Interim Council of Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and the CPN Ministers shall form a Special Committee in order to supervise, integrate and rehabilitate the (Maoist), on 22 November 2005 along with 5 the subsequent popular peaceful movement of Maoist combatants’. April 2006 brought an end to the decade-long As per the provision 4.1.3 of the AMMAA armed conflict. Ultimately centuries-old feudal - ‘only those Maoist Army Combatants who monarchy ended and Nepal was transformed have been properly registered at cantonments into a secular, federal democratic republic. will be eligible for possible integration into The Twelve-Point Agreement created positive the security forces fulfilling the standard political environment to peaceful demonstration norms. Any discharged personal from the against the autocratic despotic regime imposed cantonment will be ineligible for possible by the then King Gyanendra in February 2005 integration. The management processes of the and demand for peaceful resolution of the combatants including their integration into the conflict. The peaceful mass uprising that was security forces and fixing their numbers will be launched by the political parties in April 2006 determined by a Special Committee as agreed saw millions of people participating in the 19- in the CPA.6 days long mass protest which finally forced the king to surrender political power to the political Similarly, an agreement was reached between parties on 24 April 2006 and restored people’s the Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party sovereignty and reinstated the dissolved House of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) [(CPN- of Representatives (HoR). The armed conflict UML)] and the CPN (Maoist) on 25 April 2008 formally ended with the signing of the CPA with regards to those verified ex-combatants’ on 21 November 2006 with which the CPN integration into security agencies. It stated (Maoist) agreed to renounce violence, follow to make a provision whereby only those duly the rule of law, honour universal human rights registered at the temporary cantonments principles and democratic norms and values. mentioned in 4.1.3 of the AMMAA, signed Furthermore, they agreed to put their armed between the GoN and the CPN (Maoist) and combatants into the 28 different cantonments witnessed by UNMIN, to be deemed eligible for and store weapons in the containers under the possible integration into the security agencies supervision of the United Nations Mission to after fulfilling the standard requirements. The Nepal (UNMIN). UNMIN conducted the task ex-combatants were also to be offered a choice of verification of the arms and armies. between an economic package and various other alternatives for rehabilitation. Another milestone of the peace process – the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management On 16 December 2009, the GoN and the CPN (Maoist) signed an agreement to release the of Arms and Armies (AMMAA) which was 7 signed on 8 December 2006 between the GoN disqualified combatants from the cantonments and the CPN (Maoist). As per the provisions within a month. The discharge took place from of the CPA and the AMMAA, the Maoist ex- 7 January to 8 February 2010.