The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has shown reluctance to take complaints of conflict victims from local peace committees that were formed in all the districts comprising representatives of political parties.

The TRC has said that a committee, which is ultimately an all-party mechanism, might not be impartial in collecting complaints from the conflict victims. 

“We are sceptical about neutrality of such committees when the complaints 

are going to be mostly political,” said TRC Chairman Surya Kiran Gurung.

The , however, does not have any mechanism at the district level to collect 

complaints. The National Human Right Commission has offered support even in collecting complaints from its regional offices, which is not present in all districts. The rights body has only seven regional offices.  

“We are working on local structure to meet our needs,” Gurung said. “Besides neutrality, the local peace committees were created with different objectives which cannot serve our purpose.” 

The TRC is determined to develop its own structure at local level to handle complaints, deliver compensation and reparation as well as initiate reconciliation. “We will not wade through the process in ad-hoc basis,” said Gurung. 

The government has sanctioned 100 staff for the TRC, but has not endorsed the regulations yet. The draft regulation was forwarded to the government six months ago. 

The TRC, which was formed 11 months ago, has been mandated to complete its task in two years with a possible one year extension.