A Call to Action—Examining Nepal’s Post-conflict Strategy Toward Persons Accused of Gross Human Rights Abuses

This Note analyzes Nepal’s attempts to establish accountability and the rule of law in the aftermath of its ten-year civil war. It compares Nepal’s treatment of persons implicated in gross human rights violations with the international human rights legal framework surrounding a state’s international obligations, particularly in its use of transitional justice mechanisms. It argues that Nepal’s failure to bring either administrative sanctions or criminal prosecutions against officials accused of human rights abuses—and its reliance instead on truth commissions—undermines the rule of law and violates the country’s international human rights obligations.