Ian Martin, a veteran of United Nations human rights operations, has been named to head a team of UN monitors being deployed to Nepal in the coming weeks to try to establish accountability and prevent further abuses.
– Our new office in Nepal is extremely important and I am pleased to have someone of Mr. Martins vast experience to lead our efforts there, Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour said last week while announcing the appointment in Geneva.
This follows the UNs recent agreement with the Nepalese Government to begin setting up a regional monitoring operation to prevent further violations by all sides in the nine-year-old armed conflict with Maoist rebels.
Mr. Martin has 30 years of experience in human rights, both with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and with the UN. He has held top posts in key UN peace operations, including in East Timor (UNAMET) in 1999, and from 2000 to 2001 in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
As the High Commissioners Special Adviser in Sudan, he helped strengthen the UNs human rights presence in Darfur. He is presently the Vice-President of the New York-based International Centre for Transitional Justice. He was also Secretary General of Amnesty International from 1986 to 1992.
Mr. Martins first task will be to head a group of eight monitors preparing to go to the Himalayan kingdom in early May. They will join human rights staff already in the country, bringing the total to 12 and laying the groundwork for the deployment of a larger contingent in the coming weeks.
The UNs goal is to set up an office in the capital Kathmandu and up to five regional field offices to ensure rapid responses to violations reports.
Kilde: FNs nyhedstjeneste
