Kathmandu, April 30 -- As Bernard Duhaime, the UN Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, prepares to visit Nepal in June, a group of conflict victims has urged him not to lend legitimacy to the transitional justice commissions they have refused to accept.

In their letter, the insurgency-era victims have expressed deep lack of trust in the current leadership of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission for the Investigation of Enforced Disappearances of Persons, which they claim was appointed by bulldozing the selection process.

In a context where impunity is entrenched and state institutions are deeply politicised, any engagement or validation by the United Nations risks unde...