http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=37182&Cr=nepal&Cr1=
Maoist combatants
“Rapid steps are needed to secure the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel in a mutually acceptable manner, which the United Nations would have liked to see prior to the departure of UNMIN in order to avoid any vacuum,” he tells the Security Council in the report, referring to the UN Mission in Nepal.
The political mission, set up in 2007 at the request of a then seven-party Alliance Government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to assist in the peace process that ended the war and monitor the management of Maoist arms and armed personnel, ends its mandate on 15 January. Other outstanding issues include the promulgation of a new constitution by 28 May.
“Nepal’s journey towards sustainable peace is not finished, and the prolonged political deadlock that has hampered progress has become a growing concern for Nepalis and the international community alike as key timelines and deadlines approach in the coming months,” Mr. Ban says.
“While the Government and the Maoists agreed in September 2010 that the remaining tasks of the peace process would be largely completed by mid-January 2011, this has so far proved elusive,” he writes, warning that other commitments in the peace accord have yet to be addressed and “hold the seeds of fresh confrontation” if expectations remain unmet.
The polarized relations and deepening rifts among and within the political parties and associated mistrust which remain at the heart of the stalemate are not insurmountable, he stresses, voicing confidence that the advances made in Nepal’s unique peace process will not easily be reversed.
“The parties can and must find a way out of this situation,” he writes. “They have in the past made major compromises, and they must soon do the same. None of them can afford to put the entire process and the fruits of their hard work at serious risk. No one side can expect to win at the expense of others.”
Mr. Ban notes that while the security situation is relatively calm throughout the country, it remains fragile in the Terai region with continued reports of killings and abductions by criminal and armed groups targeting the business community and sometimes young children, primarily for ransom.
On human rights, he reports no substantial progress in addressing impunity and ensuring accountability for violations committed during or after the conflict.
News Tracker: past stories on this issue
Nepal: UN calls for rapid accord on Maoist combatants as mission draws to close
KATHMANDU, 4 October 2010 (IRIN) - The peace process is incomplete in Nepal nearly four years after the Maoist rebels signed a peace agreement with the government, ending a decade-long armed insurgency, says the UN.
“Too little attention has been paid to the peace process this year,” Karen Landgren, Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General in Nepal and head of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), which is monitoring the 2006 peace accord, told IRIN.
A 1996 Maoist uprising to overthrow the monarchy displaced more than 100,000 people and killed thousands of others over the next decade.
While the peace process saw a lot of progress during the initial two years, progress has stalled on the two most contentious issues – the rehabilitation and reintegration of the Maoist army and dismantling and replacing a centuries-old feudalistic monarchy system.*
There is a crucial need to adopt an action plan on integration and rehabilitation with a timetable and clear benchmarks, Landgren said, emphasizing the importance of detailed technical planning.
UNMIN is especially concerned since it has now only three months left to work in the country after having extended its missionseven times since its establishment in 2007 – most recently until next January.
Fragile but not dead
Local and international analysts said the UN concerns were justified, but that the situation was not deadlocked. “Of course the situation for [the] peace process is fragile but I don’t agree that [it] is at a breaking point,” CK Lal, a local analyst, told IRIN.
Issues such as holding elections, electing an inclusive constituent assembly and bringing the Maoist rebels into mainstream politics have been major achievements thus far, said Lal.
“The peace process remains incomplete but that does not imply that we are headed to any sort of failure...” said another independent analyst, Mohan Manandhar. "Political parties still continue to engage in serious debates about the new structure of the state, such as whether the country needs a federalist system based on ethnicity or regional autonomy."
“Many commentators warn of coming anarchy, the establishment fears a collapse of the social order and fragmentation of the nation. But such fears are misguided,” states a recent report on Nepal by the global think-tank, International Crisis Group.
However, such optimism is not shared by the civilians outside the capital. “Citizens are increasingly disillusioned with the political process in Kathmandu,” said Sarah Levitt-Shore, country representative of the US-based research and advocacy NGO,Carter Center - Nepal, which is monitoring the implementation of the peace accord throughout the country.
Criticism of UNMIN
Lal told IRIN that fierce and widespread criticism of UNMIN was unjustified. “They have done a reasonable job within their limited mandate,” he said, explaining that UNMIN was simply an observer and that the peace process should be Nepalese-led.
UNMIN must report back to the UN Secretary-General, who has been asked by the UN Security Council for updates on the peace process, by 15 October. “By then, Nepal [will have] entered its major holiday season [Dasain festival] and only three months will remain of UNMIN’s mandate,” said Landgren.
She added that reintegrating the estimated 4,000 Maoist rebels still waiting in UN-monitored camps remained a “challenging task” for the parties to resolve by that deadline.
* This statement was incorrectly attributed to Landgren in previous version and has been corrected.
nn/pt/mw
Theme (s): Conflict, Governance,
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=90664
NEPAL: Peace process delayed, says UN
Photo: Naresh Newar/IRIN
Maoist soldiers have been waiting since 2006 for their proper integration per the 2006 peace deal
“Too little attention has been paid to the peace process this year,” Karen Landgren, Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General in Nepal and head of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), which is monitoring the 2006 peace accord, told IRIN.
A 1996 Maoist uprising to overthrow the monarchy displaced more than 100,000 people and killed thousands of others over the next decade.
While the peace process saw a lot of progress during the initial two years, progress has stalled on the two most contentious issues – the rehabilitation and reintegration of the Maoist army and dismantling and replacing a centuries-old feudalistic monarchy system.*
There is a crucial need to adopt an action plan on integration and rehabilitation with a timetable and clear benchmarks, Landgren said, emphasizing the importance of detailed technical planning.
UNMIN is especially concerned since it has now only three months left to work in the country after having extended its missionseven times since its establishment in 2007 – most recently until next January.
Fragile but not dead
Local and international analysts said the UN concerns were justified, but that the situation was not deadlocked. “Of course the situation for [the] peace process is fragile but I don’t agree that [it] is at a breaking point,” CK Lal, a local analyst, told IRIN.
| Stumbling blocks of peace |
 Reintegration challenges for Maoist female ex-combatants |
| Stalled government policy leaves IDPs in limbo |
| Shanta Karki, "I don’t need rehabilitation" |
“The peace process remains incomplete but that does not imply that we are headed to any sort of failure...” said another independent analyst, Mohan Manandhar. "Political parties still continue to engage in serious debates about the new structure of the state, such as whether the country needs a federalist system based on ethnicity or regional autonomy."
“Many commentators warn of coming anarchy, the establishment fears a collapse of the social order and fragmentation of the nation. But such fears are misguided,” states a recent report on Nepal by the global think-tank, International Crisis Group.
However, such optimism is not shared by the civilians outside the capital. “Citizens are increasingly disillusioned with the political process in Kathmandu,” said Sarah Levitt-Shore, country representative of the US-based research and advocacy NGO,Carter Center - Nepal, which is monitoring the implementation of the peace accord throughout the country.
Criticism of UNMIN
Lal told IRIN that fierce and widespread criticism of UNMIN was unjustified. “They have done a reasonable job within their limited mandate,” he said, explaining that UNMIN was simply an observer and that the peace process should be Nepalese-led.
UNMIN must report back to the UN Secretary-General, who has been asked by the UN Security Council for updates on the peace process, by 15 October. “By then, Nepal [will have] entered its major holiday season [Dasain festival] and only three months will remain of UNMIN’s mandate,” said Landgren.
She added that reintegrating the estimated 4,000 Maoist rebels still waiting in UN-monitored camps remained a “challenging task” for the parties to resolve by that deadline.
* This statement was incorrectly attributed to Landgren in previous version and has been corrected.
nn/pt/mw
Theme (s): Conflict, Governance,
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=90664
No comments:
Post a Comment