Nepal - "Skeletons in the closet"

[Facilitator's note: Thank you to Narayan Manandhar, a Nepal-based consultant with an interest in corruption and governance issues, for allowing AP-INTACT to share his op-ed, which first appeared in The Kathmandu Post.]

“Many anti-corruption experts believe that an effective anti-corruption campaign cannot be launched by indulging in crimes committed long in the past. There are pragmatic and moral reasons for this. First, limited resources may be wasted investigating past crimes. Second, there can be allegations about personal vendettas or attempts to settle scores. Third, the crime may have been committed in a different context and it may not be relevant to judge the crime by today’s standards.

“So what could be the possible options? Bertrand de Speville, former commissioner of the world renowned Hong Kong anti-corruption agency, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), writes of six possible options, ranging from ‘doing nothing’ to declaring amnesty. In between, are options like establishing ‘truth and recompilation’ type commission; restricting new laws from being applied retroactively; establishing a separate channel to deal with past crimes; or fixing a clear line of demarcation to investigate past corruption crimes.

“In any case, an anti-corruption drive should focus on preventing present and future corruption, rather than simply digging into the past.”

Read the full commentary by Narayan Manandhar in The Kathmandu Post.

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