5 May 2010 – The Security Council is meeting today to discuss the mandate of the United Nations mission that is assisting with the peace process in Nepal, where the leading political forces have reached a stalemate over key issues such as power-sharing arrangements and the content of a new constitution.
The top UN official in Nepal, Karin Landgren, will brief the Council on the latest developments in the South Asian nation, which endured a decade-long civil war that ended with the signing of a peace accord between the Government and the Maoists in 2006.
After conducting Constituent Assembly elections in May 2008, Nepal abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and declared itself a republic. But the peace process has stalled recently, threatened by tensions and mistrust between Maoists, the Government and the army.
Nationwide strikes have been taking place since last Saturday in Nepal, whose peace process has reached a “difficult phase,” according to Ms. Landgren, who serves as the Representative of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and head of the UN mission (UNMIN).
She will present Mr. Ban’s latest report, in which he writes that despite continuing efforts, no substantive forward movement has been made on the main outstanding tasks of the peace process, namely resolving the future of the two armies – that of Nepal and the Maoists – and completing the drafting of the constitution by the deadline of 28 May.
-Political parties in Nepal face an accumulation of unimplemented peace process commitments and a fast-approaching constitutional deadline, placing the process as a whole at a critical juncture, states the Secretary-General.
He adds that at the core of the stalemate rest disagreements over integration and rehabilitation, certain key aspects of a new constitution, and power-sharing, which appear to be compounded by “mutual mistrust, insufficient political will and weak mechanisms for the implementation of past agreements.”
Other challenges to the fragile peace process include continuing disaffection among traditionally marginalized groups, the heightened visibility of the opposition to some agreed tenets including federalism, republicanism and secularism, and the widespread threats of fresh confrontation.
-Only adherence to existing commitments and a negotiated political settlement will offer a satisfactory outcome for the future of the country, says Mr. Ban, who calls on the political party leaders to redouble their efforts to find a solution.
UNMIN, whose current mandate runs until 15 May, was set up in 2007 to help advance the peace process and assist in the management of Maoist arms and army personnel. The report notes that although no formal communication has been received yet by the Government on the mission’s extension, the Secretary-General would recommend that the Council respond positively should Nepal request continued assistance.
-It is the strong desire of the Secretary-General and the UN to see the parties move forward in the implementation of the agreements they have reached, with the aim of adopting a new constitution and ensuring long-term peace, stability and prosperity, the mission stated in a news release issued today.
In a related development, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) said today that they are increasingly concerned about the participation of minors in the Maoist-led strikes, or bandhs, under way in the country which have closed schools shortly after the beginning of a new school year and exposed children to potentially violent situations.
-People under eighteen must not be forced, coerced or bribed into participating in political activities,” the two bodies said in a joint statement that follows what they said were confirmed reports of large numbers of children present, and in some cases actively participating, in the demonstrations, which were announced by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M).
Calling the closure of schools “unacceptable” and a situation that violates children’s rights to education, UNICEF and OHCHR urged all political parties to live up to their commitments and duties to protect children.
