reason shall be subjected to physical or mental torture, nor any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. (2) Actions pursuant to clause (1) shall be punishable by law and any person so treated shall be compensated in accordance with the decision determined by law.” Army Act 2006 (amendment of Military Act 1959) Section 62 criminalizes torture and provides for investigations by civilian authorities, headed by the Deputy Attorney General. A special court presided by an Appellate Court Judge competent for such crimes. However the law does not contain a definition of torture. Non-governmental sources: Article 26(1) of the Interim Constitution of January 2007 requires the Government to criminalize torture, although the provision has not been included in the legislation. The Government has repeatedly stated that it is drafting a bill, but no progress has been reported. Despite repeated requests, no details of the draft have been made available to the public. A draft bill which would set the framework for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission defines mental and physical torture as a serious human rights violation, and has a provision prohibiting amnesty for acts of torture or degrading treatment. The bill has been the subject of public consultations conducted by the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (with the support of OHCHR), but has yet to be presented before Parliament. Despite revisions to the Army Act in 2006, there has yet to be a successful criminal prosecution of Nepal Army personnel involved in conflict-related torture. The Nepal Army continues to maintain that the previous Army Act, in effect during the conflict, prevents them from cooperating fully with police investigations into allegations of torture by its personnel during the conflict. The only legislation to redress torture survivors is the ‘Torture Compensation Act 1996’ of Nepal, which deals only with the compensation of torture. It does not allow for criminal prosecution of the perpetrators involved in torture and A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 115 The CMP provides for the appointment of a high-level security committee to develop a national security policy and, based on the agreement of 23 December 2007 signed with the seven party alliance (SPA), the creation of a National Peace and Rehabilitation and Justice related to the preparation of the torture bill has not been transparent, which has caused frustration for national and international organizations interested in supporting the criminalization process.

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