Kathmandu (ICRC/NRCS) – A theatre production, a poetry recitation and the unveiling of the updated list of missing people are just some of the events that will mark the International Day of the Disappeared (30 August), which is being observed in Kathmandu on 29 August 2017.
Each year, the ICRC and the Nepal Red Cross Society release an updated list of people who are missing in connection with the decade-long armed conflict in the country. It contains names of 1,335 people who are still unaccounted for and can be accessed online from 30 August 2017.
The events, dedicated to those who have gone missing in Nepal, are being organised jointly by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Nepal Red Cross Society and the National Network of the Families of the Disappeared and Missing Nepal (NEFAD).
Family members of missing persons, along with government officials, non-governmental agencies, security forces, civil society organisations, media persons and the Red Cross Movement will participate in the events.
A video produced by NEFAD on the anguish and desperation experienced by the families of missing people will be screened at the Russian Cultural Centre, Kamal Pokhari, Kathmandu. There will also be a poetry recitation and a play by the Mandala Drama Group – one of the most well-established theatre ensembles in the country. The 50-minute play revolves around the disappearance of a young girl.
People have a right to know what has happened to their missing relatives. The ICRC reminds governments, including the authorities in Nepal, of their obligation to provide information to the families.
“We strongly hope that the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will make every effort to give the victims and the families some long-awaited answers, as provided in international humanitarian law, and address these people’s other needs,” said André Paquet, head of ICRC mission in Nepal. “On this day, let us also remember those who went missing as a result of the 2015 earthquake, and those who could not be located after the recent floods, leaving their families desperate for news.”
The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.
For further information, please contact:
Binod Kafle, ICRC Kathmandu, tel: +977 9851074295 or +977 1 4107285
Dibya Raj Paudel, Nepal Red Cross Society Kathmandu, tel: +977 9841699068 or +977 1 4285089
or visit our websites: www.icrc.org/np or www.nrcs.org
To preview and download the latest ICRC video footage in broadcast quality, go to
www.icrcvideonewsroom.org
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www.healthcareindanger.org
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