Overall Objectives of the Peace building theme is to establish culture of peace through conflict resolution, reconciliation and peace-building initiative. FOHRID has been conducting discussion and interaction at the local level to form public opinion and consensus in favour of peace, social harmony, unity in diversity and co-existence. The issues identified to carry out intervention in this issue are organize peace campaign; Promote bottom up reconciliation for sustainable peace through empowerment of victims and non-state local actors; Organize training programmes for capacity building at the local level for conflict management; and Organize conferences on the issue of conflict management at the international, regional (South Asia) and national level. In the past, FOHRID conducted discussions, seminars, talk programs with the major stakeholders for peaceful resolution of the Maoist insurgency.

1. Promote social harmony and peace
Voice for the rights of various communities and sectors of the society is being raised after success of Jana Andolan II. Such movements laid significant impact in the terai region and some ethnic communities in the hilly region. This triggered instability on the basis of ethnicity challenging social harmony. Considering the negative impact of this unrest in the social harmony and peace building process, FOHRID initiated interactions with major stakeholders at the local and central level. This issue was discussed on various programs organized by FOHRID.

2. Identifying victim's issues
What are the issues of social, economic and legal justice of the conflict victims? What are the victims' expectations from the state regarding justice? Which expectations and issues should the TRC prioritize? This action was accomplished to find out solutions of these questions through discussion with the victims of conflict.

Intensive discussion and interaction programs were held with the local level victims to assess their needs and the issues to be addressed by the state. These programs organized in Ilam, Morang, Chitwan, Rupandehi and Banke districts to identify voice of the victims regarding their legal justice, guarantee of livelihood, social need and rehabilitation of IDPs explored the issues to be addressed by the mandate of TRC. The participants raised their issues and expected that the TRC shall address them. Detail of the victim participation in this component is presented in the table below:

Table 7: Involvement of victims in the issue identifying component

Major issues raised by victims in the local level were identified through this component. The participants demanded that TRC mandate should address the following issues of conflict victims:

3. Legal justice in time
Participants opined that the mandate of the TRC should effectively implement and guarantee following issues to ensure access of conflict victims to justice:

• Determination of the number of helpless victims and aid for legal remedy.
• Determining loss borne by the conflict victims and legal aid to receive compensation.
• Establishment of community mobile justice system for easy access of the victims to justice.
• Classification of crime as severe to moderate and punishment to the perpetrators according to the severity of crime.
• Reconciliation in the society and amnesty only with consent from the victims.
• Amnesty should not be granted to the perpetrators responsible for serious crimes in the name of reconciliation. The perpetrators should be punished by formulating new laws, if needed.
• Government administration should be empowered to ensure justice and access to justice for the conflict victims.
• Perpetrators should acknowledge their crimes and they should make commitment for non repetition publicly.
• The situation of lost and disappeared should be made public and the victims should be provided reparation.

4. Economic issues and guarantee of livelihood for the victims of conflict
The mandate of TRC should incorporate following issues to ensure protection of economic and livelihood rights of the conflict victims:

• Guarantee of income generation and livelihood of conflict victim women and children, and guarantee dignified occupation for victimized women.
• Employment and self-reliant skill training for the conflict victims.
• Higher education and involvement in the social service to establish social dignity of women who have gone through sexual violence or serious social abuse.
• Evaluation of loss borne by conflict victims and compensation accordingly.
• Free treatment for those injured during past armed conflict.
• Special provision for livelihood of those who sustained serious injury and handicapped during conflict.
• Guarantee of education, healthcare and nutritious food for the children who have lost parents during conflict.
• Compensation is not enough; the state should ensure complete reparation to the victims.
• Guarantee of basic needs such as education, health and livelihood for the conflict victims.
• Development programs targeting conflict victims.
• Displaced conflict victims should be rehabilitated immediately. The abducted cash or in kind property should be returned with repair immediately. The forced donation paid during conflict should be identified and returned.
• Compensation should be provided for the buildings and other structures destroyed during the conflict.
• Property rights should be guaranteed.

5. Social needs and issues of conflict victims
The TRC mandate should incorporate following measures to guarantee social, economic and legal rights of the conflict victims:

• Conflict victims should be identified, documented and identity cards should be distributed to them.
• Include conflict victims in the mainstream socialization process.
• Make arrangements for social security of conflict victims including handicapped, disabled, single women and orphans.
• Process of justified reconciliation should be initiated in the society.
• Conflict victims should be involved from policy making to implementation level of the state.
• Conflict victims who have borne murder, torture, disappearance, rape, abduction should be identified from every corners of the country.
• Victims of both sides should be brought together to form groups and initiate social development programs.
• Right of the victim, victim's family and kin to know the whereabouts of the disappeared, right to conduct cremation according to victim's culture and tradition and right to reparation should be guaranteed.
• The agreements between the government and the UCPN-Maoist and the victim oriented programs and policies should be implemented immediately.
• The displaced should be ensured an environment for immediate return with dignity.

6. Rehabilitation of the IDPs: Challenges and possibilities
Participants recognized the present peace process as an opportunity for rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) related to conflict. Though this opportunity has made the return of the displaced easier, they pointed out following challenges faced by them:

• Identification of IDPs is difficult due to lack of monitoring of displacement. There is no clear and perfect data of IDPs.
• The structures and property owned by them before displacement have been destroyed or stolen.
• As most of the displaced are farmers, their seeds and other fundamental means for agricultural activities have been destroyed.
• They may face food scarcity immediately after their rehabilitation.
• There is uneasy situation as rehabilitation is a social issue.
• There is no guarantee of security for the victims till now.
• There is threat and risk from Indian criminal groups in the southern belt of Nepal due to open boarder.
• Individuals or families going through rehabilitation process may face lack of means of livelihood. Effective rehabilitation can take a long tme.

7. Formation of victim's groups
FOHRID has formed victim's groups at the local level. Such groups have been formed in Ilam, Morang, Chitwan, Banke and Rupandehi districts. FOHRID is working in coordination with the organized victims in other districts.

8. Activities on peace and conflict management:
FOHRID submitted memoranda on several occasions to the government to succeed peace process by settling unrest at different parts of the country. Press releases were issued in favor of peaceful resolution of the insurgency. FOHRID has expressed solidarity and participated actively to the programs aimed at conflict management organized by the civil society.