A/HRC/16/23 suspend from duty one of the accused, it also deployed the officer concerned to the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad. Although the officer was repatriated to Nepal in December 2009, the Nepalese Army has refused to hand him over to the police despite the existence of an arrest warrant. Similarly, the Nepalese Army has failed to cooperate with police investigations into a March 2010 incident, when Army personnel used unnecessary and illegal force in Bardiya National Park, killing two women and a child. 14. Similarly, there has been no genuine cooperation by the UCPN-M party or its sister organizations with police investigations into conflict or post-conflict cases that implicate party cadres. In September 2010, rather than cooperate with the police investigation into the killing of a businessman in 2007, UCPN-M instead merely suspended one of its central committee members. The party has also offered no support to the police investigation into the 2007 killing of journalist Birendra Shah despite reports that the main persons accused are actively participating in activities of organizations affiliated with the party. Furthermore, in the case of the killing of civilian Arjun Lama during the conflict, a UCPNM Constituent Assembly member, one of the main accused, has allegedly threatened lawyers and human rights defenders working on the case. 2. Delays in transitional justice 15. One of the key impediments to the rule of law in Nepal, and a justification given for the absence of action on conflict-related crimes, is the belief of many political actors that the transitional justice mechanisms contemplated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement are to be the de jure institutions to deal with conflict-related crimes, and that prior to their establishment no criminal action should be taken against alleged perpetrators of human rights or humanitarian law violations and abuses, and that decisions on their promotions or other rewarding measures should not be impeded. However, a commitment to establish transitional justice mechanisms cannot constitute an excuse for not investigating and prosecuting cases in accordance with the law. The Supreme Court has reiterated this principle through several decisions requiring immediate investigation and prosecution of serious human rights violations committed during the conflict, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. 16. Bills for the establishment of the relevant mechanisms – a truth and reconciliation commission and a commission of inquiry on disappearances – were introduced in Parliament in early 2010 following extensive consultation with stakeholders but remain pending before its legislative committee, which is considering more than 80 amendment proposals. Furthermore, in their current form the bills do not provide for mechanisms with prosecutorial powers or for the direct handover to the criminal justice system of those cases that reveal crimes under national or international law, limiting their competence to addressing such matters to the Attorney General. In reality the criminal justice system is paralysed pending the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms that themselves may not have the powers to take appropriate action on conflict crimes if laws are adopted as currently drafted. 3. Weakening of rule of law institutions 17. The prevalence of impunity has a negative effect on the criminal justice system and the administration of justice. Although the Supreme Court plays a positive role through important judgments on human rights cases, the failure to hold persons to account for serious crimes erodes public faith in the ability of rule of law institutions to enforce the law fairly and without political bias. Concurrently, the lack of accountability emboldens those who engage in criminal activity and the use of violence. 6