[JURIST] UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang [official profile] said Sunday that unchecked human rights violations in Nepal remain a barrier to achieving sustainable peace in the country. Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist rebel leader Prachanda signed a peace agreement [JURIST report] in November 2006 formally ending the decade-long Maoist guerilla insurgency against the government that left over 13,000 people dead. During a news conference [recorded video via Nepal News] from Kathmandu, Kang said:

When the High Commissioner [Louise Arbour] visited Nepal one year ago, she focused on two main issues: the need to end impunity and the need to address deep-rooted discrimination. A year later, impunity remains unchecked in Nepal and not one perpetrator of past or on-going human rights violations has been convicted as a result of a criminal investigation.

In response to the culture of impunity in Nepal [JURIST news archive], Kang issued a renewed call for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that conforms with international standards. Human Rights Watch and the International Commission for Jurists criticized [JURIST report] Nepal's draft Truth and Reconciliation Commission Bill of 2007 [DOC text] last August for its failure to meet international legal standards [press release]. PTI has more.