FIELD BULLETIN Interim Relief to Conflict Victims: Views from Surkhet

Transcription

1 Issue 22, October 2011 Background FIELD BULLETIN Interim Relief to Conflict Victims: Views from Surkhet During the decade long armed conflict in Nepal, almost 17,000 Nepali lost their lives 1. Many women and girls were victims of rape and sexual assault, numerous people suffered from landmine and Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) explosions and became disabled, whilst others suffered from torture, trauma or were forced into internal displacement. Following the signing of the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Government of Nepal (GoN) formed a Special Task Force in June 2007 to collect data of the persons, families and structures affected by the conflict. The Guidelines of Economic Assistance and Relief for Conflict Victims 2 (hereinafter guidelines) produced by the Special Task Force were approved by the Council of Ministers on 25 April They were designed to provide guidelines for the distribution of relief for the two years following its approval, and set out general guidelines to assess who was considered a conflict victim. It was also agreed that for those victims who were still going through the process after the initial two years, a new set of guidelines would be put in place. According to the guidelines, compensation would be provided to a person injured or dependents of a person killed or missing during conflict. This included medical reimbursement for the person injured during conflict, compensation to the dependents of the person killed or missing during the conflict, scholarship support to the children of the person killed or injured and compensation for property damaged during the conflict. However, it does not recognize as victims those who suffered torture or sexual violence as noted below. Local Peace Committees (LPCs) in Surkhet Section of the Comprehensive Pease Agreement, 2006 reads: Both sides agree to constitute a Peace and Rehabilitation Commission and carry out works through it to normalize the adverse situation arising as a result of the armed conflict, maintain peace in the society and run relief and rehabilitation works for the people victimized and displaced as a result of conflict. Local Peace Committees (LPCs) are the local quasi-representative body of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR). Their mandate includes assisting with the implementation of the CPA, mediating local level conflicts and monitoring the implementation of the Ministry s relief and reconstruction programmes 3. According to the MoPR, 73 districts have established LPCs as of April 2011 under the tutelage of the Ministry 4. LPCs have also been expanded to the VDC level 5 The LPC in Surkhet was established in April 2009 and there are altogether 33 VDC level LPCs and one municipal level LPC in Surkhet district. The LPCs have representatives from all the major political parties, conflict victims, ethnic groups, castes as well as female members 6. According to records held by the LPC in Surkhet, 278 families who lost a 1 As per the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction at least 16,800 people were killed; 1,300 forcibly disappeared; 92,000 were rendered displaced whilst over 6,000 government buildings were destroyed during the conflict. ( Refer to Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Local Peace Committees: % pdf 4 According to MoPR: Gorkha and Tanahu are the only two districts in which LPCs have not yet been formed (Report on Local Peace Committee functioning has improved, but overall effectiveness remains unclear, The Carter Center, May 2011) 5 As suggested within the LPC ToR and in line with the LPC Directive adopted by the MoPR in 2009, the Local Peace Committee s ToR, Clause 3.3, makes provision for the establishment of VDC level LPCs if deemed necessary. Each VDC level LPC constitutes maximum of 9 members. 6 Mr. Rambabu BC, LPC Section Officer in Surkhet, 12 July Page 1 of 5

2 family member during the conflict and 13 families who are still missing family members have been provided interim relief. In addition 44 people injured during the conflict received medical support prior to the establishment of the LPC in Surkhet. In addition, the records show that 123 single women have received compensation and 217 students scholarship support. However, many applications submitted to the LPC are still to be reviewed In the meanwhile many alleged conflict victims in Surkhet have not been provided relief and compensation (see Annex). Disparities in the Compensation and Interim Relief Mr. Nanda Bhandari, Legal Officer at the Advocacy Forum in Surkhet, stated that Those who have political influence and can approach authorities at the Ministerial level receive interim relief easier than those who do not. Mr. Suryamani Gautam, a Central Member of the Nepal Journalist Federation also noted that there are shortcomings in the distribution of interim relief, such as a lack of transparency in the investigation, screening and recommendation processes, as well as a lack of general awareness of the process. Ms. Nanda Shrestha, Regional Chairperson of the Single Women Group in Surkhet suggested that the DAO and LPC Office disseminate Family Living with Splinters information how to apply for compensation and interim relief through the media (e.g. FM, newspapers) and through the VDC level LPC committees in order to reach more potential conflict victims. The CDO for Surkhet, Mr. Hari Krishna Paudel, explained that interim relief is distributed based on the recommendation of the LPC and investigations by the Statistics Collection and Investigation Committee which has been established by the CDO to investigate and collect data of conflict victims in the district. In some instances cases prove not to be genuine whilst in others the application and supporting documents do not identify the applicants as a conflict victim and hence are difficult to recommend for compensation. Ms. Shrestha explained that In many cases, conflict victims do not realize that the application they submit and the recommendation letter and other supporting documents they provide do not clearly mention the incident and how they were affected. Concerned authorities like the VDC Secretary, LPC members and government officials at the DAO need to support the applicant and ensure that applications and supporting documents clearly describe the incident and nature of suffering of the applicant. Challenges Faced by Victims of Sexual Violence Ms. Naina Shahi (47) and her three children have been living with splinters from an IED for seven years. However, they have not received medical support from the government. Ms. Shahi says, We were not in conflict with the Maoists. Our only fault was to rent the house of a Nepali Congress member to run our hotel. The Maoist detonated an IED in the house in June In the incident, Ms. Shahi and her three children were injured by splinters from the IED and all their belongings turned into ashes. Ms. Shahi had sold her land and property in Dailekh in order to invest one million rupees to operate the hotel. After the incident, she received only NRs 26,000 in compensation from the District Administration Office in Dailekh. Having nothing left, she came to Surkhet to settle and with the support of an NGO opened a small grocery shop which is only her source of income. We heard that government provides interim relief and medical reimbursement, however, we are not sure whom to meet and how to proceed said her son Kamal Shahi. The guidelines define a conflict victim as someone who is a dependent of the person who died, disappeared, was injured or disabled, as well as those whose property was lost during the conflict 7. Despite numerous cases of rape and sexual assault against women, these victims are not included in the interim relief schemes 8. According to Ms. Nanda Shrestha, Female victims of rape and sexual violence suffer from complex mental and physical problems. Due to the social stigma, they cannot publicly reveal what 7 8 According to the Section 1(c) of the Standards of Economic Assistance and Relief for Conflict Victims (amended on 20 January 2010), conflict victim is defined as: the dependents (husband or wife, children, parents and other members of the family living together), disabled, handicapped or injured people during conflict, individuals and families internally displaced due to conflict, persons gone missing after nabbed by conflicting parties during conflict and their families, persons abducted by conflicting parties during conflict, and property belonged to individuals, families and organizations that were damaged by the conflicting parties during conflict. Victims of other crimes, e.g. torture are also not recognized as conflict victims. Page 2 of 5

3 happened to them before government officials who are generally men. In addition, there is no provision of interim relief to victims of rape during the conflict. Ms. Pabitra Shahi, Programme Coordinator at the NGO AAWAAJ 9 explained, During the conflict, rape victims were too afraid to file complaints, and once the conflict was over then it was too late for them to file a report. Seeking justice, rape victims need to comply with the Muluki Ain (Country Code) which provides for a 35-day limitation 10 to file the complaints with the police. Ms. Shahi added: Such incidents should be considered as war crimes and the perpetrators should be brought before court. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that every citizen has easy access to justice and that citizens can live in dignity after filing a case. The GoN in February 2011 adopted its National Action Plan (NAP) 11 on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and The NAP presents the contextual framework and analysis of the peace and security situation in Nepal, as well as provides insight into the impact of the conflict on Nepali women 12, and as such might help address some of the above shortcomings. Scholarships to Students Ms. Pabitra Shahi highlighting issues of victims raped during the conflict Gang Rape Victim Receiving No Support Maya (name changed) was gang raped by members of the Nepal Army in Dailekh in November Despite seven years having passed, Maya still suffers from the trauma caused by the attacks, and still has medical problem as her uterus prolapsed after the incident. She has spent more than NRs. 90,000 on treatment, selling her house in Dailekh to afford it. However she still requires medical treatment. She explains that she has approached the DAO, VDC, LPC, MoHP and many I/NGOs seeking support, but that she has been unable to receive any. She says if I could only get reimbursement for the medical treatment, it would at least take care of my financial problems. According to the LPC only 217 scholarships have been provided to students in Surkhet district (see Annex). Sections 1.2.1, and of the guidelines state that, scholarship support is provided to Although the guidelines state that the scholarship the children of the person killed or disabled amount to be provided should be based on the level of (more than 50%) or the children himself/herself education, it was noted that in Surkhet the same amount disabled (more than 50%) due to conflict. For of scholarship support was provided regardless of the this, they need to be provided interim relief by education level. Ms. Rita Paudel 13 (17) of Jarbuta-2 the government. Scholarship support is provided to maximum three children of the person. Surkhet explained that, Last year the eligible students Section further states that support for for scholarship support were provided with NRs 10,000 primary level is NRs 10,000; NRs 12,000 for each, however this year the amount of scholarship was lower secondary level; NRs 14,000 for secondary reduced to NRs 6,400. When asked to explain the level and NRs 16,000 for certificate level or decrease, the DEO, Mr. Upadhyay stated that In the higher secondary level until the child turns 18. past, some of the local NGOs provided scholarships to some of the conflict victims and thus they were not on our list to avoid duplication. However, as of last 9 AAWAAJ is a local NGO based in Surkhet and working on the issue of Violence Against Women 10 In June 2008 The Supreme Court ordered the Government to extend the 35-day limitation but the Muluki Ain has not been amended to date. 11 The GoN is currently formulating an implementation plan for the NAP with the support from UNWOMEN under a UNPFN project. 12 Nepal adopts National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 and 1820: Bandana Rana, SAATHI (NGO), Kathmandu: 13 In July 2002 the father of Rita Paudel was taken from his house in Jarbuta-2, Surkhet to a nearby school and shot dead by the Nepal Army on the allegation that he provided food to the Maoist. According to Rita s mother, they had to struggle to gather all the documents including the death certificate, migration certificate, recommendation from the VDC, relationship validation documents etc. It took them almost eight years and they were finally provided with interim relief of NRs 100,000 in March Page 3 of 5

4 year, none of the NGOs are providing scholarship support and therefore the number applying for government s scholarship has increased. So we had a higher number of students than the amount we received from the Ministry of Education (MoE). Rather than providing the full amount to some and excluding others, we decided to distribute the amount equally to everyone. We have also requested the deficit amount from the MoE. Many organizations came and asked us questions, opening the wounds which we had tried to forget over the years. Then they never came back to help said Indra Chunara 14 of Jarbuta -3, Surkhet. She also remarked that they had to wait for a decade before they were provided with interim relief of NRs 100,000 from the government, whilst a few years back a local NGO provided the family with NRs. 7,000 for goat rearing. Ms. Pabitra Shahi explained that organizations working for conflict victims used to provide them with economic assistance for income generating activities, skill training and scholarship support for the children. However, the programmes were for a limited period of time only and are no longer implemented in Surkhet district. Concluding Remarks The Interim Relief Package was initiated as a first step to help heal the wounds of conflict victims and as a step towards reconciliation. This field bulletin suggests that it has succeeded in supporting some victims in Surkhet. However, the implementation of the support package is far from comprehensive or transparent. Many conflict victims also raised the issue of suitability of a one-time cash grant as this is not deemed to be a long-term and sustainable solution. Requests were also made for technical support such as skills development training 15 as a way to develop a livelihood strategy. Most importantly, people felt that the application process is not user friendly and overly bureaucratic. There is also a lack of consistency in the application of policies as the scholarship schemes for the eligible children of conflict victims in operation in Surkhet shows. Finally, victims of some crimes, such as torture, remain unrecognized as conflict victims. The same applies to women who suffered sexual abuse and who also remain excluded from the package due to their inability to report the crime within the limited time frame. 14 Indra Chunara s brother was killed by the Maoist in July 2001 after being accused of spying. In 2010 his family received NRs. 100,000 from the DAO. According to the wife of the deceased, her sons who are in grades 6 and 7 had received NRs. 10,000 each last year. However, this year, the amount of the scholarship support decreased to about NRs 6, MoPR is about to pilot a Employment/Self Employment Services programme for conflict victims in the districts of Rolpa, Bardiya and Jumla. Page 4 of 5

5 Annex Status of compensation and interim relief distributed to conflict victims in Surkhet district Conflict Victims Application Collected by LPC s Office Compensated Killed Missing Injured (prior to formation of LPC) Injured in people s movement (prior to formation of LPC) Disabled in cantonment Abducted 51 0 Detained Orphans 76 0 Additional IDPs 2,098 0 Individual s property damage 1, (prior to formation of LPC) Institutional property damage 10 0 Government building damage Property seizure 5 0 Repairing houses House construction 44 0 Vehicle damage 2 0 Single women Scholarship support Total: 5, Source: Office of Local Peace Committee, Surkhet (July 2011) Disclaimer: This field bulletin is prepared following a brief field study and also uses secondary data. The information presented in this field bulletin does not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Although the RCHCO aims to confirm all information independently, occasional factual inaccuracies can occur. United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator s Office (UN RCHCO) GPO Box: 107, UN House, Pulchowk, Kathmandu rchco.nepal@one.un.org Phone: , Fax: Visit the UN Nepal Information Platform at Page 5 of 5