Mr. Jeremy M. Weinstein, Dean of Harvard Kennedy School,
University Marshal Ms.
Katie O’ Dair,
Esteemed
faculties, staff, and students,
Ladies
and gentlemen.
Namaste
and Good Afternoon,
I
start by sharing how honored I feel to address John F Kennedy Jr. Forum at
Harvard today.
I extend my deepest appreciation to the
President of the University, for the generous invitation and excellent
arrangements for this event.
I feel
singularly privileged to stand in this enormous temple of knowledge and wisdom.
With all modesty, I stand here to share Nepal’s perspective on transitional
justice and climate justice.
First,
let me delve into the issue of transitional justice in Nepal.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
As you
may know, our country suffered a decade-long armed violence from 1996 to 2006
which resulted in around 17000 deaths of Nepali people.
But we
have since come a long way from it, which started with the signing of a
Comprehensive Peace Accord between the rebels and the government in 2006.
Following
the Accord, we first held an election to the constituent assembly in 2008 to
write a new constitution. However, the disagreements in the assembly resulted
in its dissolution without adopting a new constitution.
Even
then, the first constituent assembly undertook a consequential action--turning
Nepal from an autocratic kingdom to a democratic republic by abolishing 240
years long monarchy.
The country has also been transformed from
unitary to federal state.
The
second constituent assembly, elected in 2013, promulgated a new constitution in
2015, solidifying previous gains made in the field of restructuring and
democratizing the state.
The
constitution marks the culmination of our nation’s struggles for democracy that
started in the 1950s.
The
constitution guarantees a competitive multiparty democratic system of
governance, civil liberties, fundamental rights, human rights, full freedom of
the press and concept of the rule of law with a view to building an inclusive
and prosperous nation.
In a
nutshell, our constitution comprehensively addresses the underlying drivers and
catalysts of conflict through substantial social, political and economic
reforms.
This
is a brief scenario of Nepal’s peace process and political transformation.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Transitional
justice is an integral part of our peace process.
Although
transitional justice has remained on the backburner for several years, it was
not forgotten.
An
attempt has been made to resolve this protracted issue of transitional justice.
Back
in 2015, we established two transitional justice mechanisms, namely, Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, and Commission on Enforced Disappeared Persons.
The
Truth and Reconciliation Commission alone collected nearly 67 thousand
complaints from all over the country and even settled some of them.
But
due to due to the frequent changes in the government, the issue of transitional
justice was delayed for some 18 years after signing of the peace Accord.
Now,
my government has been formed in a coalition of major two parties of Nepali
politics not only to give stability but also to better deliver to Nepali
people. These two political parties have a long history of leading the people
for their freedom and prosperity.
In
this context, I am happy to share that immediately after the formation of my
government, the Transitional Justice bill was passed by the parliament with
near consensus.
This
time, my government is determined to conclude the issue of transitional justice
once and for all.
I want
to assure you that the process of transitional justice will protect victims’
rights and interests, including legal remedies. It will involve seeking truth,
providing reparation, and bringing perpetrators of serious crimes to justice.
No
blanket amnesty will be given.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Nepal’s
peace process is nationally led and nationally owned unique process. Unique in
the sense that all political parties from the left and right came together and
concluded the ‘Peace Accord’.
As we
move to the last mile tasks of the peace process, we welcome support and
encouragement from the international community including our partners in the
process for effective implementation of the TJ Act.
We are
determined to conclude TJ process to heal the wounds and scars of the conflict
period and help the entire society move forward with a sense of reconciliation,
peace and harmony.
In
fact, Nepal is inherently a non-violent, tolerant and peaceful society as it is
the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, an apostle of peace.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Now,
let me turn to the subject of climate justice.
Our
Mother Earth is in the ‘Goldilocks zone’ in terms of Earth’s distance to the
Sun. As the right atmosphere had evolved in the subsequent period, life
came to existence on earth. The making of this process took several billion
years. Long story short, today, we
descendent of ‘Homo sapiens’ rule the surface of the
planet earth.
What
we know now is that the last two hundred years’ anthropogenic activities have
been rendering irreparable damage to the natural ecosystem and atmosphere of
our mother earth thereby leading to the destruction of billions of years of
evolution in no time.
Axiomatically,
it will invite the extinction of life on earth.
Now,
the whole world is suffering. But the least developed countries are suffering
the most as they do not have resources and technologies to manage adverse
impacts of climate change.
Moreover,
while we have just started to make initial steps for economic development, the
problem of global warming and climate change has come our way with
increased incidence of disasters.
It came to us from the outside world, far from
our borders. The cumulative impact of hundreds of years of burning of fossil
fuels have largely created these catastrophic problems.
This
is a gross injustice meted out by the advanced industrialized economies with
their centuries of exploitation of nature and emissions of greenhouse gas that
are largely responsible for the global ecological harms, endangering our very
existence.
Against
this fact, it is entirely rational to call for climate justice.
And
for us, climate justice is plain and simple: those who pollute the environment
have to pay proportionately.
Developed
countries and major economies must take proportionate responsibility to support
developing nations for climate actions, through adequate resources and
technology transfer.
The
major emitters must lead from the front in healing and rehabilitating Mother
Nature, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.
The
establishment of a “Loss and Damage” fund in the recent UN Climate Change
conference was a positive step in recognizing the principle of climate justice,
whereby those most responsible for emissions should cover the damages.
Ladies
and Gentlemen, if we truly believe in democracy and
justice at a global level, then wealthy nations who are responsible for climate
damage must compensate for the loss and damage of essential infrastructures and
livelihoods of people in vulnerable countries.
The
stakes are nothing less than our collective existence. The world cannot
continue with a wrong model of carbon intensive development. We must take
proportionate actions to limit global warming and climate change, preserve
nature, transition to greener economies and embrace a sustainable path forward.
We are
in the same boat. If we don’t work together to keep it afloat, we will sink
together.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
My
country Nepal has set an ambitious goal of reaching net zero by 2045, five
years ahead of the global target.
Despite
being one of the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases, Nepal is one of the most
climate vulnerable countries. We have become a barometer of climate change.
Nepal
has hugely been contributing to the health of our planet through its forests, mountains
and rivers. Yet, despite these efforts, we continue to bear the brunt of
climate change, created largely by the actions of industrialized nations.
Our
mountains play a crucial role in regulating the climate and ecosystem
of oceans and mountains, with their snow-fed
rivers flowing down to the oceans. Nepal’s Himalayas, as a natural
climate stabilizer, help maintain a cooling system in a region
situated the hottest zone of the planet between the tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn.
But
our Himalayas are losing their ice at an alarming rate endangering the lives
and livelihood of billions of people based on the river system originated from
the Himalayas.
Neither
the heat of the hottest regions nor the ice of the cold poles caused this
destruction. It is humanity that has harmed nature, and in turn, nature is
contributing to the climate crisis. Therefore, it is our responsibility to
protect nature, and in doing so, we must preserve our mountains and forests.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
I
conclude by stating the obvious: the climate crisis is an unprecedented crisis
that engulfs the entire planet.
Therefore,
it requires commitments, solidarity and collective action on an unprecedented
scale.
Thank
you for your attention.
I
would be happy to engage in an interactive discussion.
Remarks by the Prime Minister
of Nepal Rt. Hon. Mr. K P Sharma Oli in John F Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard
University on Nepal’s Perspective: From Transitional Justice to Climate Justice,
September 27, 2024.
