Participants of an interaction have urged the government to immediately ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC) statute to punish the people who had committed crime against humanity.

Speaking at an interaction in the capital on Thursday, participants said that the government formed on the basis of the people’s power should not delay to ratify the statute to assure people that it is working as per people’s aspiration.

They also urged the government to prioritize the agendas of human rights and work as per the people’s aspiration.

Speaking at the programme organized by Amnesty International Nepal, rights activists Krishna Pahadi alleged that the passivity of the incumbent parliament to announce the date of the election of the constituent might be a conspiracy hatched against people.

He also asked the Maoists and the political parties to publicize their agendas for the election of the constituent assembly.

Leader of Nepali Congress Democratic, Pradip Giri, said that the parliament should not delay to ratify ICC statute to end the practices of impunity and to take action against those involved in rights violations.

He pointed out the need on conducting free trial and taking appropriate action against those involved in suppressing the people’s movement and involved in crimes against humanity.

Speaking at the same programme, lawmaker Subash Nemwang expressed commitment to prioritize the issue of ratifying ICC statute and other international treaties to ensure people’s rights.

He added that the parliament is mulling to institutionalize the achievements of the people’s movement and working as per the people’s aspiration.

Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Kedar Nath Upadhaya also agreed that the ICC statute should be immediately endorsed to end the practice of impunity, adding, “The ICC had played important role in the International level to take action against the criminals of humanity so Nepal should immediately endorse it.”

At the same program, former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana was of the view that the political parties agreed to much less than what they could have achieved.

“The movement could have yield better results and it might have given something more to the Nepali people, but the leaders agreed in the reinstatement of the HoR, which is not the demand of the movement and it will do nothing to make the Nepali people sovereign,” Dhungana said.

He deplored the passivity of the parliament to make it supreme and lack of concrete decisions to make the people supreme.

Rights activist Subodh Raj Pyakurel said that the government should immediately ratify the ICC statute, to check the systematic torture and widespread killing prevalent in the country.

More than 100 countries have ratified the ICC statute, but none of the SAARC countries have ratified it.