It still remains a Himalayan task for Nepal to achieve the transitional justice and reconciliation process to restore the social order that was ruptured because of mass atrocities during the protracted civil war from 1996 to 2006.
Sixteen years after the civil war left about 16,000 dead and 15,000 reported missing, repairing society after massive human rights violations has proved elusive in Nepal as the country does not possess the required political will.
The decade-long conflict was between the monarchy and Maoist rebels and as such transitional justice and reconciliation became tricky, which is even otherwise a balancing act. On the one hand, it upholds universal human rights norms to ensure justice for victims and, on the other, it respects the legitimacy of a political solution to a conflict.
King Gayanendra Shah, who ruled the nation of 30 million people at the time, subscribed to the divine right theory, which asked his subjects to treat him as an incarnation of the Hindu god, Vishnu. He took charge after the royal massacre in 2001 and reigned until 2008, when parliament declared Nepal a republic, ending the monarchy.
As chaotic politics and unstable governments continue, the bigger question asked is who will pin the responsibility for the atrocities, and on whom? Both security forces and rebels are accused of carrying out torture, killings, rapes and enforced disappearances.
The/ Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed by rebel leaer Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the then prime minister. G.P. Koirala, pulled the curtain down on the 10-year conflict in the country.