Year-long Campaign against Impunity Calendar (June 2008- May 2009)

Human rights defenders on behalf of Citizen Task Force to Combat against Impunity launched a year long campaign to celebrate a year as "Year against Impunity", with the firm belief of obtaining full support for all major stakeholders to ensure "Impunity free Federal Democratic Nepal".

The "Citizen Task Force to Combat against Impunity" is a mechanism formed by representatives of human rights community and civil society to combat against impunity. The Task Force unveiled its "Year Long Campaign against Impunity", on 1 June 2008 in Kathmandu. The campaign will end in May 2009.

The culture of impunity has been entrenched in Nepal since a long time and has been the key obstructing factor to justice for decades. Deeply-rooted in Nepal's politics, culture and society, impunity is a historical characteristic and ahs tremendously affected other aspects of society while encouraging ignorance of justice. The principles of rule of law have been largely undermined, indicating that the restoration of democracy was democracy was not completely successful in ending impunity.

The Comprehensive Peace Accord, Interim Constitution and Common Minimum programme of the Interim Government have provisions on the establishment of mechanisms dealing with impunity in various sectors. However, even after the election of Constituent Assembly, in reality the culture of impunity has been highly encouraged by the political parties and their Interim Government, crippling society and worsening the overall human rights situation in the country.

In this backdrop, human rights community of Nepal has launched a year long campaign to pressure concern stakeholders to initiate a concrete steps to address impunity in Nepal. The task force will lobby at the highest level to intervene in the constitution making process, provide recommendations to the constitution drafting committee, to guarantee in the new constitution, the right to life and fundamental rights of the people according to the international human rights instruments to which Nepal is a state party. It will also sensitize on the need to address impunity and accountability through constitutional provisions.