Thaindian News

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – The United Nations (UN) Security Council met on Wednesday to discuss the mandate of the UN mission to assist with the peace process in Nepal, where the leading political forces have reached a stalemate over key issues.

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 elections in May 2008, Nepal abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and declared itself a republic. However, the peace process has slowed recently, threatened by political tension and mistrust between the Maoists, the Government, and the army.

Nationwide violence has taken 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 the head of the UN mission (UNMIN).

She will present 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 May 28.

“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.”

UNMIN, whose current mandate runs until May 15, 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.