Justice Journey

An Applicant’s Path to the United Nations Human Rights Committee

Begin Your Justice Journey

Justice Journey is an interactive digital experience that invites you to walk the long, uncertain path to justice taken by survivors of serious human rights violations in Nepal including cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and conflict-related sexual violence.
Inspired by 28 real-life cases submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee* (2006-2018). This experience guides you through digital stations that mirror the justice process from the moment of violation, through domestic legal struggles, international appeals, and recommendations by HRC for implementation to Nepal government.
As you walk each step, you encounter the systemic delays, denials, and bureaucratic barriers that survivors continue to face. The journey ends not with resolution, but with the weight of waiting. A question that lingers: What does justice look like when the system remains silent?


 *UN Human Rights Committee (UN HRC): The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) is a body of 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).  The Committee was established under the First Optional Protocol (OP1) to the ICCPR, which gives it the power to receive and examine individual complaints (also known as “communications”) from individuals who claim their rights under the ICCPR have been violated. Nepal ratified both the ICCCR and the First Optional Protocol on 14 May 1991. By doing so, it agreed to uphold the rights enshrined in the Covenant and to provide an effective remedy for any violations. To date, the Human Rights Committee has adopted 29 decisions (also called "Views") on individual complaints filed against Nepal. These decisions represent international findings on whether Nepal failed to meet its human rights obligations and what steps it must take in response (also known as “recommendations”).

Reflect on Justice

Follow the scroll cue to continue, reflecting on the question:

Where does justice begin?

The Violation

You are stepping into the experience of someone affected by serious human rights violations. Select the form of harm they endured to begin their journey through the harm they faced and the justice they sought.

Seeking Justice at Domestic Avenues

The following case narrative shows how families and survivors pursued justice through domestic mechanisms like courts, commissions, and police where they only face silence, denial, or delay at every step.

Going to the Human Rights Committee

When domestic options fail, some families take their case to the Human Rights Committee (HRC), an international body that monitors civil and political rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Nepal has ratified both the ICCPR and its Optional Protocol I, which means individuals in Nepal can directly submit complaints (called communications) to the HRC when their rights are violated. 

But even reaching the HRC is not simple.  

 WHAT IS THE HRC?

  • Made up of 18 independent experts.
  • Reviews individual complaints of rights violations.
  • Can make recommendations to States but cannot enforce them.

Who Can Submit?

Victims of serious rights violations (e.g. torture, arbitrary killing, enforced disappearance and conflict- related sexual violence).
A close family member or representative (if the victim can’t submit it themselves).
Anonymous submissions are not allowed, but pseudonyms may be used if there is a security risk.

BASIC CONDITIONS:

 To be admissible, communication must:

Be submitted by someone directly affected.
Show a substantive rights violation (like the right to life, liberty, freedom from torture).
Prove the violation happened under Nepal's jurisdiction and after 1991 (when Nepal accepted the HRC's authority).
Not to be under review by another international body.
Be submitted within a reasonable time (usually within 5 years of exhausting domestic remedies, unless delay is justified).
Show that all domestic legal options were tried first (unless they were unavailable, ineffective, or unreasonably delayed).

Exception to the admissibility requirement: Enforced Disappearances

Disappearances are not one-time events. The uncertainty, trauma, and lack of accountability continue and so do the violations. That's why the HRC accepts disappearance cases even when the original act happened long ago.

The HRC Process

Complaint submitted

Individual communication filed

HRC reviews admissibility

May request additional information from the applicants

Government response

Nepal invited to comment

Applicants' comments

Provided response to state's party observation

HRC issues Views

Issues its recommendations

Impact of HRC Decisions

These recommendations are not legally binding, but they carry significant moral and political weight. They provide:

  • Official international recognition that a wrong occurred.
  • Pressure on the State to acknowledge, investigate, or compensate.
  • A permanent record in international law that survivors can reference and that activists can build upon.

Many families choose this path not because it guarantees justice, but because it affirms truth, dignity, and visibility of their violations.

THE RECOMMENDATION

In each of the 28 cases, the Human Rights Committee found Nepal responsible for serious human rights violations and issued direct instructions for what must happen next.

These were not optional. They were binding international obligations that Nepal had voluntarily agreed to when it ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol.

Grouped by theme, here is what Nepal was told to do:

Truth and Investigation

  • Conduct a thorough and effective investigation into the facts.
  • If the victim was killed or disappeared, locate their remains and return them to the family.
  • Provide families with regular, detailed updates on the progress of investigations.

Justice and Accountability

  • Prosecute, try, and punish those responsible, with penalties that match the gravity of the crimes.
  • Make the outcomes of legal action public.

Rehabilitation and Support

  • Provide psychological rehabilitation and medical treatment (free of charge).
  • Offer support not only to victims but also to their families.

Reparation and Dignity

  • Provide adequate compensation.
  • Offer official apologies and public measures of satisfaction, such as memorials in victims' names.
  • Restore the dignity and reputation of the victims and their families.

Legal Reform and Prevention

  • Amend domestic laws on torture and enforced disappearance to meet international standards.
  • Remove barriers like short statutes of limitations that block justice.

Transparency and Acknowledgment

  • Translate and widely publish the Committee's decisions ("Views") in Nepali and other official languages.
  • Disseminate the findings to raise public awareness and ensure institutional learning.

Still Waiting for Justice

The Human Toll

The Human Rights Committee’s decisions relate to 92 victims, including:

All were found to have suffered serious violations of their fundamental rights. 

Implementation Remains Low

  • Only 9 out of 29 HRC decisions have been translated into Nepali.
  • Only 3 victims have received compensation from the Government. 89 victims are still left awaiting compensation.
  • In none of the cases:
    • Have investigations been conducted or reopened
    • Have perpetrators been prosecuted or sanctioned
    • Has psychological or medical support been provided
  • In cases of enforced disappearance, the fate and whereabouts of victims remain unknown.

Relief ≠ Justice

Some families received small amounts of interim relief, particularly in disappearance and extrajudicial killing cases. But this is not compensation, as required by the HRC and victims of torture and sexual violence were excluded entirely.

Victims continue to live with:

  • Physical pain
  • Mental trauma
  • No closure
  • No accountability

Partial Law Reform Isn't Enough

2018 Legal Reforms

Nepal criminalized torture and enforced disappearance, but:

  • Definitions still conflict with international law.
  • Statutes of limitation block justice.
  • The law does not apply retroactively so it excludes all the cases submitted to the HRC.

August 2024 Truth and Reconciliation

Recognizes conflict-related sexual violence and offers some hope for the serious human rights violations victims of conflict, but:

  • Failure of recent transitional justice commissions to adopt survivor-centered approaches, particularly on issues of sexual violence.
  • Lack of policies ensuring confidentiality, safety, security, mental health support, and dignified participation of survivors.

No Real Dialogue with the HRC

 Nepal is obligated to report on its implementation within 180 days of an HRC decision. But as of July 2025:

7 Cases
Nepal submitted information to the HRC (out of 29)
Nepal Government has not engaged in any ongoing dialogue with HRC.
Grade "C"
HRC implementation rating (actions taken do not implement the recommendations)

The Bottom Line:

Nepal made promises under international law.
The Human Rights Committee issued decisions.
Victims are still waiting.
Justice has not arrived.

Reflection

At this point in the journey, we invite you to pause and reflect.

What would justice look like if it were for you? What would you say to those still waiting? 

Your words will become part of a living archive of collective witness and advocacy.


Additional Resources

Thank You for Completing the Justice Journey

Your reflection has been submitted. We hope this experience has given you insight into the difficult path to justice for survivors in Nepal.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

The struggle continues.