The memorandum submitted through Chief District Officer Ram Bahadur Kurumwang was signed by Basanta Gautam (Advocacy Forum-Nepal), Sunil Kumar Shrestha (Deputy Chair, Nepal Bar Association), Bikash Acharya (Chairperson, Nepalgunj High Court Bar Association), Ayub Siddhiki (Chairperson, District Court Bar), Pralad Bahadur Karki (Chairperson, Human Rights Organization, Banke), Bhola Mahat (INSEC Province 5 Coordinator), Namaskar Shah (chairperson, Non-governmental organization Federation Banke), Prabhat Kumar Thakuri (Chairperson, Human Rights Alliance Banke), Basaka Man Bhandari, Kamala Panta (Abhiyan Nepal), Maimuna Siddhiki (Fatima Foundation) and so on. In the submission event, Chief of National Human Rights Commission-Nepalgunj, Chandrakanta Chapagain was also present.

The memorandum stress the need to end the culture of impunity by fulfilling the commitments made at international level. Apart from appealing the government to ratify the Rome Statute, a major objective of the memorandum is to urge the government to take positive steps to provide justice to the victims of past human rights violations.

The international criminal court prosecutes and makes the perpetrators responsible for the 4 international crimes (genocide, crime against humanity, war crimes and crime of aggression). The memorandum stresses that the ratification of the Rome Statute doesn’t encroach on Nepal’s sovereign rights but rather supports in ending the culture of impunity and create a conducive environment for justice.

The signatories highlighted that the reinstated parliament unanimously directed the government to ratify the Rome Statute on 25 July 2006. In addition, a number of countries have also recommended Nepal to ratify the Statute in the Universal Periodic Reviews. Furthermore, on 11 February 2009, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs presented the agenda of ratification of the Rome Statute at the Council of Ministers. So, the memorandum stresses the need to ratify the Rome Statute highlighting the role and importance of the Rome Statute in establishing accountability and also prevent commission of such crimes in future. It is important to note that despite being relatively new, the Rome Statute is a milestone in strengthening international criminal justice.

Chief District Officer Ram Bahadur Kurumwang committed to forward the memorandum to the concerned government authority as it is upto the decision of the government whether or not to ratify the Statute.