The Centre for Victims of Torture (CVICT) in Nepal created a process of community mediation as an alternative to the criminal justice system. This keeps some people from being needlessly arrested and brought to police stations, where 60 percent of prisoners are tortured into giving confessions.
CVICT did research on what types of disputes were occurring, then developed a training course for community leaders, including women and Dalits (of the untouchable caste), on settling disputes with a rights-based community mediation method. Community mediation would be available for disputes other than violent crimes, and would be made available to everyone, regardless of age, sex, class, or social caste. To recruit trainers, CVICT held mass meetings in each community and asked for nominations. The trainers were then trained in human rights, local laws and how to handle disputes. Many who were already involved in mediating disputes could build on their existing skills. These trainers then trained others at the local level.
These people then make up committees that mediate disputes at the local level. Each committee is at least 30 percent women and has at least one representative from the ethnic minorities in the community. The steps and rules in the mediation process are very clear, beginning with a request for mediation and involving self-representation for both parties.
During the mediation session, five to nine trained mediators are placed between the parties of the dispute, who can also bring others to support them. The mediation committee explains the structure of the mediation process. The parties and their supporters each state their case. The mediators then involve the parties in a discussion of possible options for agreement. In general, the solutions emerge this way, from the parties in conflict and the community. However, the mediators are also empowered to decide that further investigation or legal action is necessary. The mediator can decide to file a case on behalf of one of the parties, which has resulted in the wealthy being willing to engage in the process.
The mediation system is improving access to justice and the dynamics of power in the three districts where it has been carried out. It is also greatly reducing the number of arrests: In the first year, two-thirds of cases were resolved through mediation while one-third went to the police and the courts. CVICT’s community mediation project has been able to resolve a large number of local disputes, create awareness about human rights, and reduce conflict within families and between neighbors. CVICT is expanding the project to twelve districts, where one-third of the country’s population will have access to it.
Torture in Nepal is often used in police stations as an interrogation tool. That is why, in this case, mediation is an effective way of preventing torture by keeping people out of police stations. This tactic also has other significant benefits: It expands access to justice for people who may not have other ways to resolve their disputes or bring complaints against the wealthy, and it trains local people to take on or expand their leadership roles in their communities, as mediators.
Creating alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to prevent the involvement of the police
