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Nepal: award-winning documentary spotlights plight of families of missing people

07-01-2009 News Release 09/03

Kathmandu (ICRC) – A documentary film entitled "The Wait Continues", produced by the Nepal delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was recently awarded a prize by the First South Asian Interactive Film Festival.

The film, directed by Mohan Mainali, bears witness to the suffering of the families of those who went missing during the 10-year armed conflict in Nepal, and highlights their unaddressed needs.

People have gone missing for as long as wars have been fought. Although the circumstances of disappearance may vary, the suffering endured by families of the missing is always severe. " These families are caught between hope and despair, not knowing if their loved ones are dead or will one day return. They are unable to mourn and move forward with their lives, " said André Paquet, the ICRC's deputy head of delegation in Kathmandu.

Under international humanitarian law, governments must take all feasible measures to account for persons reported missing as a result of armed conflict and must provide their families with any information they have on their fate. The ICRC encourages the Nepalese authorities to fully recognize the families of missing persons as conflict victims and to strive to clarify what happened to their missing loved ones. The ICRC is in regular contact with over 1,200 families of people who went missing in Nepal.

 
Watch film: The Wait Continues   For a copy of the documentary or for further information, please contact:
  Krishna Chalisey, ICRC Kathmandu, tel: +977 1 4482285 or 9851000602